
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

ChapW_*_L. Copyright No.l 

Shell 1 , 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Tnncle HiletVs party 
Hn Palestine ******* 



m 

7ft. *R. Cupper, 5r* 

ant> 

fnlrs* G. IHamtlton 



lpbUat<elpbia 

American baptist Ipubltcation Society 

14:20 Cbestnut Street 



14060 



Copyright 1898 by the 
American Baptist Publication Society 




Hn %ovir\Q IRemembrance 



of our GlorifieD flflotber, in wbose life ripeneD 
tbe fruit of tbe Spirit— love, jos, peace, 
loncj^uffering, gentleneee, gooDness 
faitb, meekness, temperance; anD 
wbo, in imitation of ber Xorfc, 
liveD for otbers, tbie little 
volume bas been 
prepared 



CONTENTS 



I. Egypt to Palestine 9 

II. Jerusalem 28 

III. East of the City 47 

IV. Old Landmarks 57 

V. In judea 78 

VI. Northward 93 

VII. the Homes of Jesus 113 

VIII. The Great Mountains 127 

IX. 44 The Eye of the East" 146 

X. Stones of Three Kingdoms. ... 157 

XI. Modern Syria 166 



CHAPTER I 




EGYPT TO PALESTINE 

ROM Cairo to the Holy Land ! 
The anticipations of visiting 
the land where our Lord 
lived, caused the party to for- 
get the fatigue attending the long journeys 
through the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, 
China, Ceylon, India, and Egypt; and 
joyfully they turned their faces toward that 
country which saw the sublimest events of 
human history. The gentleman in charge 
of the party was Dr. Henry Allen, a 
genial and most considerate bachelor uncle, 
whose delight seemed to be to make his 
young folk happy. The others were, 
Katharine, a bright, impetuous girl of fif- 
teen; Philip, a nephew of Doctor Allen, 
thoughtful and appreciative; and Cousin 
Serena, whose name gave indication of the 
calm spirit and gentle influence that were 
9 



TUncle Bllen'6 Ipart^ in ipaleetine 



hers. She was expected to uphold the 
proprieties, or at least to look after Miss 
Katharine, who often needed suggestions 
from some wiser person than herself. 
There was much variety in the dispositions 
and tastes of the little company, but all 
possessed a kindly consideration for each 
other and a keen appreciation of the pleas- 
ures to be had in the anticipated journey 
through the land of the Book. With this 
simple introduction the reader is invited to 
join them and share the benefit of what 
was seen on this pleasant journey. 

A conductor, a dragoman, Egyptian 
tents, horses, mules, muleteers, and pro- 
visions, were arranged for in advance ; and 
on a bright day in the early part of April 
they took train from the * * City of the 
Arabian Nights," and within a few hours 
were passing through the fertile plains of 
Goshen. 

"Katharine, did you ever hear of the 
land of Goshen except in the Bible ? 99 

" Oh, Uncle Allen, please don't be ' im- 
proving ' right at once. Ask Philip ; he 
has read everything.' ' 



iBgEPt to iPaleetine 



But Philip refused to tell what he knew 
of contending armies of olden times upon 
these fields, or how the frightened forces 
of Arabi Pasha, about fifteen years ago, 
gathered here after the bombardment and 
fall of Alexandria, and the last blow was 
given to his cause by English arms. 

It was agreed that they should spend a 
short time at Ismailia before taking ship at 
Port Said, and all enjoyed the fruit and 
flowers growing in abundance in the pretty 
little city which is located midway on the 
Suez Canal, between the Mediterranean and 
Red Sea, at the Bitter Lakes, through 
which the canal runs. 

" I would have enjoyed being here when 
the Suez Canal was completed and the in- 
auguration ceremonies took place/ ' said 
Cousin Serena. "It seems to me like the 
cementing of international friendship, when 
Europe and the East joined hands and a 
new impulse was given to commerce. " 

As they neared Port Said, Katharine 

was ecstatic, for from this point they were 

to embark for Joppa, Palestine. 

i ' Not very complimentary to the place, 9 ' 
1 1 



Ulncle Bllen's fl>art£ in Palestine 



remarked Philip, " that its only recommen- 
dation seems to be that it is a starting 
point for somewhere else." 

"I think," said Doctor Allen gently, 
" that we should prepare ourselves for the 
scenes before us in the Holy Land, by 
talking over the history, geography, cli- 
mate, people, animals, and flora of the 
country, while we are approaching its 
shores. I have found much to instruct and 
interest us in Dr. Edward Robinson's 
excellent work upon this interesting country. 
Such a small area it is to have held so much 
of historic interest ! Its extreme length is 
less than two hundred miles, with an aver- 
age breadth of sixty miles." 

" I was reading," said Philip, " that the 
word Palestine is derived from the Hebrew 
Palesheth (Philistia), but the ancient Jews 
applied the term only to the southern por- 
tion of the coast." 

" Yes, that is so," said Uncle Allen; 

" but when the country came under Roman 

rule, the word became the general name 

for the whole country of the Jews and 

Josephus uses it in both applications. 
12 



J£c*£Pt to Ipalesttne 



" After leaving the coast on the west, 
the country runs rapidly to a mountainous 
height in the center, and on the other side 
it declines to the level of the desert, which 
is cleft through the center by the valley of 
the Jordan. The plain along the seashore 
varies in breadth. In some places it is only 
a narrow strip between the sea and the 
mountain, and again it widens out into a 
plain miles in extent. The western part 
of the coast level, which is a valley of 
great fertility, was occupied by the Philis- 
tines, and north of this was the Sharon of 
Scripture.' ' 

" Oh, yes V said Cousin Serena softly, 
" the rose of Sharon and the lily of the 
valley." 

"Tell us about the mountains, uncle. I 
like them better than I do plains and 
valleys. Shall we see Mt. Lebanon and 
Mt. Carmel ? I have a hazy remembrance 
of an old prophet who lived there and 
who once lay down under a juniper tree 
ready to die, he was so tired of life. And 
I long to see beautiful Hermon. ,, 

" Yes, all of these peaks we shall see, 
13 



Ulncle Bllen's parts in Palestine 



with the plain of Acre and the fertile valley 
of the Lebanon, and Mt. Tabor. Do you 
remember that that is the traditional mount 
of Transfiguration ? Though less than two 
thousand feet high it is one of the most 
picturesque mountains of Palestine. Ebal 
and Gerizim are the most prominent moun- 
tains of Samaria, which lies north of Judea. 
We think of them as the mountains of bless- 
ing and of cursing, and the scenes enacted 
there in the early days of Israel are among 
the most striking in Old Testament his- 
tory. 

" How I shall like to see the Jordan," 
said Philip ; ' ' and what a remarkable river 
it is, the only one in Palestine, and be- 
cause of its associations perhaps the most 
noted in the world. Think of how crooked 
it is in its course ; I believe travelers say that 
within a space of sixty miles it travels two 
hundred miles and dashes over twenty-seven 
rapids, until it enters the Dead Sea at a 
depression of thirteen hundred feet below 
the Mediterranean Sea." 

" Doesn't it pass through the sea of 
Galilee too? M asked Cousin Serena. 
14 



3Eg£Pt to IPaleetine 



" Yes, and this sea is seven hundred feet 
below the level of the Mediterranean.' ' 

"To think of walking on the shore of 
the sea of Galilee I" murmured Cousin 
Serena. "I cannot realize that that priv- 
ilege will so soon be ours." 

"Dean Stanley," said Uncle Allen, 
"has written in most interesting style re- 
garding the appearance of the country. 
He says : ' Above all other countries 'in 
the world it is a land of ruins. In Judea, 
it is hardly an exaggeration to say that for 
miles and miles there is no appearance of 
present life or habitation, except the oc- 
casional goat herd on the hillside, or gather- 
ing of women at the wells ; and there is 
scarcely a hilltop, of the many in sight, 
which is not covered with the vestiges of 
some fortress or city of former ages. The 
ruins we see now are of the most distant 
ages, Saracenic, Roman, Grecian, Judean, 
extending perhaps to the old Canaanitish 
remains before the arrival of Joshua.' " 

" Shall we find it very warm, Uncle 
Allen? " asked Katharine, who had been 
an attentive listener. 

15 



Ulncle Bllen'a fl>art£ in Palestine 



"I think not, for the climate, though 
oppressive in the summer in the lowlands, 
is mostly mild and delightful during the 
greater part of the year throughout the 
country, and even the midwinter cold is 
seldom sufficient to freeze the ground. We 
hear sometimes however of snow falling to 
the depth of a foot in Jerusalem. 

" I wonder if we shall see the varieties 
of fruits mentioned in the Bible as abound- 
ing in this country/ ' said Cousin Serena. 

"Yes," said Doctor Allen. < ' Along 
the slopes of the hills terraces are built, and 
the olive, fig, and pomegranate are pro- 
duced. The apricot, almond, pear, orange, 
and lemon are also cultivated, while the oak, 
sycamore, turpentine, mulberry, laurel, cy- 
press, and myrtle trees are frequently seen. 
Among the chief agricultural productions 
are wheat, barley, maize, rye, rice, peas, 
beans, and potatoes; and tobacco, cotton, 
and sugar-cane are also cultivated at times.' ' 

* ' I always think of the Jews as a pas- 
toral people," said Philip ; " and I do hope 
we shall see flocks of sheep and goats on 
the hillsides." 

16 



TZQWt to Palestine 



" And that we shall see the lilies of the 
field," said Katharine. ' i Are there many 
flowers, uncle?" 

"Yes, the poppies, anemone., and tulip 
are found in abundance. Among the birds 
we shall recognize many of our old feathered 
friends, such as the eagle, vulture, crow, 
kite, lark, owl, woodpecker, kingfisher, 
cuckoo, woodcock, partridge, quail, stork, 
heron, pelican, swan, goose, and duck." 

"We have left the discussion of the 
manner of men inhabiting this country, for 
the last," said Philip. 

"And rightly," said Miss Katharine, 
"for it is of the greatest importance." 

"The Mohammedans," continued Doc- 
tor Allen, " who are chiefly Turks, occupy 
government positions ; and the majority of 
the common people, who are descended 
from Arab, Greek, and Syrian ancestors, 
are for the most part extremely illiterate, 
fanatical, and indolent. The Christians are 
descended from the Syrian race and belong 
to a branch of the Greek Church, controlled 
by a patriarch at Jerusalem." 

"How does the present population com- 
b 17 



Ulncle Bllen'6 ©arts in Palestine 



pare with what it was in ancient times ? ' ' 
asked Philip, who was fond of statistics. 

"It is estimated at less than a tenth of 
what it was then," said Doctor Allen. 
" You remember that for more than six 
centuries the country was subject to the 
Roman and Byzantine emperors. The 
Jews, after frequent rebellions, including 
the one of A. d. 70, in which Jerusalem 
was destroyed by Titus, were driven from 
the country and scattered over the world. 
As Christianity spread, Palestine became 
the resort of a large number of pilgrims, 
and Jerusalem was the seat of a patriarch." 

"Was it not an empress who had 
churches and chapels built in Palestine?" 
asked Katharine. 

" You are thinking of Helena, the mother 
of the Emperor Constantine. Yes, her 
name and that of her son will always be 
associated with this country. Then the 
Persians invaded Palestine, and for hun- 
dreds of years it was the battlefield of rival 
factions until the latter half of the tenth 
century, when it fell under the rule of 
Egypt." 

18 



JEcjEPt to lpaleettne 



" Godfrey of Bouillon has always been 
one of my heroes," said Cousin Serena. 
" His share in the rule of the land, under 
the Crusades, forms one of the most inter- 
esting and heroic chapters in the life of 
the land." 

"One of my heroes," said Philip, "is 
Saladin the Great, who in 1187 overthrew 
the Christians. Not that I rejoice in their 
fall; but he had some noble traits." 

"Then," said Doctor Allen, "after 
many vicissitudes came the fortunate reigns 
of the Mamelukes, which lasted from 1291 
until 1579, when again the Turks recon- 
quered this historic land, and with the ex- 
ception of a brief occupation, 1839-41, 
by Mahomet Ali, the rebellious pasha of 
Egypt, have held it to this day." 

"What is this Palestine Exploration 
Fund of which I heard you speaking 
yesterday ? " asked Philip. 

" It was organized in 1865 for the pur- 
pose of identifying places mentioned in 
Scripture and of surveying a part of Sama- 
ria and Judea. Some remarkable inscrip- 
tions of Christian origin have been discov- 
19 



ered within the Haram enclosure at Jeru- 
salem, and a large number of biblical and 
classical sites have been identified." 

The enthusiasm of the young people of 
the party was great, when, after a rough 
night on the Mediterranean, they caught 
the first glimpse of the mountains of Judea, 
when the yellow shore came in view, and 
in the distance could be seen the red-tiled 
houses of Joppa, rising in terraces on the 
slopes of a beautiful hill. 

" Wasn't it to this place that Hiram, 
king of Tyre, sent the wood from Lebanon 
to Solomon for the temple? " asked Cousin 
Serena. 

"Yes," said Katharine, before Doctor 
Allen could reply, " and it was from Joppa 
that Jonah took ship, and if he felt as 
badly as we did last night in that rough 
sea, he didn't deserve any credit for being 
willing to be thrown overboard." 



Bs^pt to Palestine 



This caused a smile, for the ill-feeling 
referred to had been general. Philip, who 
was a lover of mythology, recalled the 
story of Andromeda, who, according to 
tradition, was chained hereabouts to a rock 
that she might be destroyed by a huge sea 
monster, but was rescued by Perseus. 

The party sallied forth to visit the house 
of Simon the tanner, and had pointed out 
to them the place on the flat roof where 
the Apostle Peter had the vision recorded 
in Acts, which put a new interpretation 
on the gospel he preached. Cousin Se- 
rena, who was a great worker in the Dorcas 
society, much enjoyed standing on the 
spot where the great apostle is said to have 
rescued Tabitha and given her back to her 
distressed friends. 

"Now," said Doctor Allen, "let us 
have a consultation about our trip from 
Joppa to Jerusalem. Shall we go on the 
cars, or shall we get a carriage and drive 
through this beautiful country? " 

" Oh, a carriage by all means," spoke 
up the impetuous Katharine. "We have 
just the number for a charming carriage 

2 I 



tUncle mien's fl>art£ in ipaleettne 



party ; four is the choice number, travelers 
say, unless two be choicer/ ' 

Cousin Serena hastened to say that trav- 
eling through this country by means of a 
puffing, smoking engine seemed to violate 
a deep-seated sentiment, and added her 
wish to Katharine's; so it was decided to 
secure a carriage and thus have the oppor- 
tunity of studying the places of interest en 
1'oute, as they would make it an all-day 
trip. The attendants being provided with 
saddle-horses, they made an imposing 
bodyguard, and the whole formed a brave 
cavalcade. 

' ' How beautiful ! how beautiful ! ' ' were 
the exclamations, as they drove for miles 
through orange, lemon, pomegranate, and 
apricot gardens. On every hand were 
evidences of great fertility. 

" But, uncle, what is done with all this 
fruit, and what nationality are the people 
in the gardens? 99 

"They are Germans/ ' said Doctor Al- 
len, " who, about thirty years ago, secured 
a thousand acres from the sultan, and have 
made large fortunes by shipping oranges 



JE0£Pt to Palestine 



and other fruits every year. I am told 
that eighty thousand pounds is realized 
annually from these fruit farms, which were 
formerly a barren plain. 

"The Rothschilds and other wealthy 
Hebrews have established and still sup- 
port a Jewish agricultural school near by ; 
but the sons of Abraham are so biased 
toward commercial life that, when a few 
pounds have been accumulated at the 
school, they bid good-bye to the hoe and 
plow and go forth as traders." 

Every mile of this road is of interest to 
the student of the Bible. The obliging 
dragoman pointed out the field where 
Samson caught the three hundred foxes, 
as recorded in Judges the fifteenth chap- 
ter, identified the location of the " House 
of Dagon," and showed the site of the 
ancient city of Ashdod. 

Upon reaching Ramleh, the traditional 
Arimathea of the Gospel of Matthew, a 
great stone tower was seen, and the young 
people were delighted to hear that it dated 
from the Crusades or earlier. Upon as- 
cending its wall, they obtained an extended 
2 3 



TUncle Btlen's ipattE in Palestine 



view of the whole plain, from Gaza on the 
south to Mount Carmel on the north, about 
one hundred miles, and from the hill 
country of Judah and Benjamin on the east 
to the Mediterranean Sea, about twenty 
miles. It was a magnificent outlook, and 
the enthusiasm of the party was unbounded. 
Here was pointed out Ashdod ; Gath, the 
town of Goliath (1 Sam. 17 : 4-11) ; Geser, 
which Pharaoh presented to his daughter, 
Solomon's wife (1 Kings 9: 16); and 

several cities 
taken from the 
Israelites by 
the Philistines 
in the reign of 
Ahaz. 

Reminding 
his party that 



JE^PPt to ipalesttne 



they could not always stay "upon the 
heights," Doctor Allen led the way down 
to the carriage, which was ready to carry 
them on their journey. In less than two 
hours from Ramleh, they passed into the 
beautiful valley of Ajalon, where, as it is 
recorded in Josh. 10 : 12, the Hebrew gen- 
eral commanded the moon to stand still. 

" Oh, Uncle Allen, don't you wish John 
Jasper could see this place? Wouldn't he 
write a sermon to match his celebrated one, 
'The Sun do Move'?" 

" Will the child never be awed by any- 
thing? " sighed Cousin Serena. Still, she 
could not help joining in the smile that this 
fun-loving young person was always pro- 
voking. 

" Now, if you were English tourists, I 
would propose a walk through this lovely 
country," said Doctor Allen, who was an 
enthusiastic botanist and a good Syrian 
scholar, "for I think it would be more 
enjoyable even than the carriage drive. 
But suppose you ladies keep the carriage 
and Phil and I will take a stretch over the 
fields and hill slopes and join you later." 
25 



TOncle Bllen'6 iDart^ in Palestine 



This was agreed to, and they walked ten 
miles through the valley and adjacent hills, 
gathering, within a space of not more than 
three hundred yards, twenty-two kinds of 
flowers, the fields and hills looking as 
though they were covered with many col- 
ored carpets. Here they saw the single- 
handed plow, used from time immemorial, 
drawn through the rich soil by an ox and 
an ass, and driven by the bearded Syrian. 
They peeped into wells that were like those 
used by Jacob, passed through the meadow 
where, as some say, David let fly from the 
sling the stone that buried itself in the 
forehead of the great giant, and viewed 
with interest the house of the penitent thief 
at Latron. You may be sure they were 
plied with questions when they returned to 
their seats in the carriage, and the ques- 
tioners had equally glowing accounts to 
give of what they had seen, Katharine 
asking Phil if he remembered Black's 
beautiful description as seen by two of his 
tourists from a phaeton, and he as simply 
replying in the negative, which caused the 

dimples to show and the smile to play upon 

26 



TBQWt to ©alesttne 



the mischievous lips of his vis-a-vis. Soon 
they came to a place thought to be the 
Emmaus of Luke 24: 13, where Christ ap- 
peared on the day of his resurrection, and 
where they besought him to 4 'Abide, for 
the day is far spent." 

As a fitting close to this eventful day, 
the sweet melody of " Abide with me, fast 
falls the eventide," floated out upon the 
evening air. A peaceful feeling fell upon 
the occupants of the carriage and reached 
the souls of others near them, a fitting 
benediction on them, as, by the crimson 
light of the setting sun on the western sky 
over the Judean hills, casting a rosy glow 
on meadows and vale, they passed through 
the gate into the Holy City. 



^7 



CHAPTER II 

JERUSALEM 

AN you realize that you are one 
of the pilgrims at Jerusa- 
lem?" remarked Cousin Se- 
rena to Philip, as the party 
started out to thread the narrow streets. 
They meant to stop often and long when 
anything of interest presented itself to 
them, for they would not permit them- 
selves to fall into the mistake of trying to 
"do" Jerusalem on schedule time, and 
dashing from one place to another under 
whip and spur. 

The time spent in Jerusalem enabled 
them to visit systematically the four quarters 
of the city, namely, the Mohammedan, 
the Jewish, the Armenian, and the Chris- 
tian quarter. In the first, the muezzin's 
call to prayer is heard from the tall mina- 
ret; in the second, the Hebrews live in 
28 




Jerusalem 

their queer old houses, in the midst of 
which is their new synagogue ; in the 
Armenian quarter, the great Armenian 
church; and in the Christian quarter are 
the church of the Holy Sepulchre and 
the Greek and Latin convents. 

Remembering that the modern city is 
but the topmost stratum of several former 
cities, that beneath its outward aspects lie 
entombed the remains of those who have 
played their part in the most remarkable 
drama of history, and that here lie piled 
beneath the ruins the work of at least 
three distinct Jewish periods, as well as 
those of the Herodian, the Roman, the 
Byzantine, the Crusader, and the Moslem, 
they tried to show wisdom and discretion 
in their observations and investigations, 
while studying this wonderful city. 

" The excavator's pickaxe is to unearth 
stones that have tongues/ ' said Philip. 

"You mean sermons in stone, don't 
you?" said Katharine, but he replied not. 

"They say fifteen thousand visitors 
land upon the shores of Palestine annually, ' ' 

said Doctor Allen, as they stood looking 

29 



TUncle Bllen'8 parts in Palestine 



at some Russian peasants, who were com- 
ing in from the great Russian convent and 
barrack that dominate the city on the 
north. 

"Look how earnest and serious they 
are," said Cousin Serena. 

"I suppose they will go the rounds of 
these sacred places with their tapers in 
their hands," said Uncle Allen. "I have 
seen them on their way to the river Jor- 
dan traveling the road from Jerusalem to 
Jericho, with great bundles on their 
backs. Most of them seem past mid- 
dle life and are carrying out at last the 
longing of a lifetime, over which they have 
brooded and prayed. Many of them have 
walked one, or even two thousand miles 
from their native place in the interior of 
Russia before they arrived at the point of 
embarkation on the shores of the Black 
Sea. Each peasant pays for his own pas- 
sage and all the expenses of the long 
journey out of the earnings carefully stored 
up from year to year with this intent. The 
Russian government requires, before grant- 
ing permission to any of them to leave 
3° 



Jerusalem 



Russia, a specific pledge and contract that 
they will return, and demands also that 
each one shall deposit in the hands of the 
authorities enough to defray his return 
fare. Besides this, each has to contribute 
his toll and fees to the local fund of the 
Eastern Church, and it is this money that 
furnishes the means for the renovation of 
older buildings and for the erection of the 
new chapels and shrines that are spring- 
ing up all through southern Syria, under 
the aegis of the Eastern Church. 

"Most of the pilgrims who belong to 
the Latin communion are French. There 
exists in France a benevolent society for 
helping poor French Catholics make this 
pilgrimage, and this fund allows about one 
thousand of these pilgrims to visit the 
Holy Sepulchre every year. There are 
not so many Moslem pilgrims, but the Jews 
are coming in large numbers, not as travel- 
ers, but as colonists. The number of tour- 
ists who spend from two to six weeks in 
Palestine, is increasing every year; but I 
have been unable to secure reliable statis- 
tics on this point. Most of these attempt 
31 



Ulncle Bllen'6 parts in ipaleetine 



no more than a sight of Jerusalem and its 
environments, go to Bethlehem perhaps, 
five miles to the south, and to the Jordan, 
eighteen miles to the east, and then sail 
from Beyrout, after having run up to Da- 
mascus. They do not apparently take any 
real or abiding interest in the associations 
of the land, and do not seem desirous of 
enlarging or giving reality to the impres- 
sions they have derived by study at home." 

" One of Uncle Allen's hobbies is to get 
a bird's-eye view of a place before study- 
ing it in detail," Katharine had said to 
Philip, at breakfast; " so prepare yourself 
for the ascent of the highest tower we can 
find in the city." 

Just then they heard Doctor Allen tell- 
ing Cousin Serena of a tower two hundred 
feet high erected on the mount of Olives, 
and recommending that as soon as they 
had breakfasted they should go there. 

" You see, I know him like a book, the 
dear uncle," said Miss Mischief. Now 
she ran up to him, took his arm as they 
walked, and claimed him as her special 
comrade during the climb up the tower. 
3 2 



Jerusalem 



" Now, uncle, what is that water in the 
distance ? Can you see it, Cousin Serena ? ' 9 

"Why, of course I can, and I guess it is 
the Dead Sea. Do you know what valley 
this is we are overlooking? " 

"No, but uncle does; he'll tell us." 

"That's the valley of Jehoshaphat; 
beyond is the Holy City; behind, resting 
in the hills, is the town of Bethany; while 
twenty miles away is Jericho ; and do you 
see the Jordan in the distance?" 

The four hills upon which Jerusalem 
stands were once separated by deep valleys 
which are now filled by the debris of suc- 
cessive destructions of the city. On the 
southwest rises Zion, the most celebrated 
of these, which is three hundred feet above 
the valley of Hinnom, and five hundred 
feet above the Kidron. It was the old 
citadel of the Jebusites, and the "city of 
David." Mount Moriah, which was the 
site of the ancient temple, and is now 
crowned by the Mosque of Omar, is on 
the southeast, separated from Zion by the 
Tyropoeon Valley, and from Olivet by the 
deep gorge of the Kidron. On the north- 
c 33 



TUncle Bllen's f>art£ in Palestine 



east is Mount Bezetha, which was enclosed 
within the walls after the time of Christ, 
by Herod Agrippa; and Mount Akra, 
which is the highest point of the city, is on 
the northwest. Thus it will be seen that 
the city slopes down from the northwest to 
the northeast, and standing on the north- 
west angle of the wall, one is at the high- 
est point, and can see Moriah far below 
on the southeast, with the Tyropoeon Val- 
ley, on the west of it running down be- 
tween it and Zion to the junction of the 
Kidron with the Hinnom. 

* * I see from the guide book that the cir- 
cumference of the city is nearly two miles," 
said Philip, " and that the walls are thirty- 
five feet in height. Around the walls are 
thirty-four towers, and in the walls are 
eight gates, six open and two closed. The 
population is variously estimated from 
seventy-five to one hundred thousand, and 
the Jews, who have been coming in large 
numbers of recent years, far outnumber all 
others." 

" Where shall we go first?" said Doctor 
Allen, as they came down from the tower. 

34 



Jerusalem 



" To the Mosque of Omar," said Philip, 
and the others agreed. 

When they had reached it and he looked 
about him, what memories filled his mind 
and inspired his thought. Where once 
stood the great temple, designed by David 
and built by Solomon, is now the Mosque 
of Omar; and tradition declares that it 
covers the spot where Oman had his 
threshing floor, where Abraham offered up 



TUnclc alien's parts tn Palestine 



Isaac, and where David interceded for the 
plague-stricken people. 

Standing in this magnificent building 
one's thoughts rush back to the past, when 
psalmists wrote and patriots sang of the 
temple's glory. Hither the tribes came 
up ; here shone forth the light of the She- 
kinah ; here was the center of the religious, 
the poetical, and the political life of God's 
chosen people ; and to this spot devout 
Jews in every land still turn with tearful 
eyes and prayerful lips, longing for the 
restoration of their loved land. The Chris- 
tian thinks of the little child presented here 
by the mother, of the divine youth asking 
and answering questions, and of the Man- 
God, "teaching and preaching the things 
concerning himself." The sacred rock 
immediately beneath the dome, measures 
sixty feet in length and forty feet in 
breadth. Numberless legends cluster about 
this rock, Jewish, Christian, and Moslem. 
Here, it is claimed, Melchisedek offered 
sacrifice, Abraham brought young Isaac 
as an offering, the ark of the covenant 
stood, and through a circular hole in the 
36 



Jerusalem 



rock the blood of the sacrifices is said 
to have passed, being carried by way of 
the Brook Kidron outside of the city. 

' 'We must see the Mosque el Aksa," 
said Doctor Allen, as they walked around 
the spacious area known as the Haram el 
Sherif, " where are the tombs of Aaron's 
sons, the praying place of Moses, Abra- 
ham, Elijah, David, Solomon, and Mo- 
hammed.' ' 

" I see a reference in the prophecy of 
Joel to the valley of Jehoshaphat," said 
Cousin Serena, "where devout Jews wish 
to be buried, for to this place will the 
Messiah come when the prophecy is ful- 
filled : ' I will also gather all nations, and 
will bring them down into the valley of 
Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them 
there for my people, and for my heritage 
Israel, whom they have scattered among 
the nations, and parted my land/ That 
is interesting, is it not ? to be looking 
upon the very spot which has been in the 
minds of the Jewish nation for so many 
years. If seems to me like a dream that 
I am in this Holy City." 

37 



TUncle Bllen's lpart^ In ipalesttne 



"To-morrow we will visit the Via Dolo- 
rosa/ ' said Doctor Allen, as they sat to- 
gether upon the flat house-top of their 
hotel, listening to the muezzin's call to 
prayer as it came from the tall minaret in 
the Mohammedan quarter, and reviewing 
the scenes and events of the day. 

So it was with grave faces and sym- 
pathizing hearts that this party passed 
through the narrow but picturesque street 
leading from a point near St. Stephen's 
Gate to the church of the Holy Sepulchre ; 
and as their feet pressed the rough pave- 
ment of the Via Dolorosa, they remem- 
bered that it had been pressed by the feet 
of many generations of pilgrims, who 
strove to walk in the footsteps of the 
agonizing Christ, passing this way from 
Pilate's judgment hall bearing his cross 
until Calvary was reached. Accepting the 
general belief as to the site of the Holy 
Sepulchre, they found in the present build- 
ing much to interest and impress them. 

There has been much controversy as to 
the site ; but it is quite certain that there is 
no historical evidence that the question was 
38 




at all settled until the third century, when 
it appears from Eusebius, that over the 
sepulchre had been erected a temple to 
Venus. 

In the present building they found thirty- 
seven stations, at which the Roman Catho- 
lics, Greeks, Armenians, and Copts hold 
their services. The following are some of 
these : The stone of unction, on which 
they say Christ was laid and anointed, 
39 



Ulncle mien' 6 Iparts in Ipalesttne 



when taken from the cross ; the spot where 
Mary stood to see what would be done 
with the body of her son and Lord; the 
sepulchre itself and the stone which closed 
the door; the place where Mary met the 
risen Lord, supposing him to be the gar- 
dener; a hole through the marble pave- 
ment where the cross is said to have stood ; 
and, what rather surprised them, they were 
shown at last the tomb of Melchisedek and 
the tomb of Adam. The Holy Sepulchre 
stands in the center of the rotunda. The 
slab is cracked through the center, is much 
worn by adoring pilgrims, and the little 
chapel that encloses it is lighted by forty- 
three lamps, always burning. The church 
is the joint property of the Greeks, the 
Latins (Catholics), Armenians, and Copts, 
and each take their turn in making proces- 
sions to the holy places and worshiping at 
the sacred shrines. 

"Speaking of Helena, the mother of 
Constantine, the other day, reminded me," 
said Doctor Allen, "of the many tradi- 
tions regarding her, one of which tells us 

that it was by means of a dream that she 

40 



Jerusalem 



learned the site of the sepulchre. Her son 
erected a magnificent basilica over the 
place where the tomb was supposed to 
have been. Although this original edifice 
has long since disappeared, the present 
church of the Holy Sepulchre is located 
where the dream of the devout empress 
led her to suppose was the tomb of the 
Lord and the place of the crucifixion.' ' 

In this church they were surrounded by 
everything that human invention and mod- 
ern art could devise ; but turned away sick 
at heart to think that such folly and super- 
stition should be associated with the most 
sacred events of the world's history. 

" I was reading just this morning," said 
Philip, ' ' that we might be shown the place 
where the empress sat and threw pieces of 
gold into the rubbish, to encourage the 
workmen in their search for the cross." 

Here they were shown, besides the slab 
of limestone where it is said the Lord's 
body was anointed when taken from the 
cross, scores of other evidences of the 
baldest superstition, marked and labeled 
in the most artificial manner. 

41 



Ulncle Bllen's II>art£ in ipaleetine 



"It is surprisingly strange that this 
place was selected, if the biblical record 
was consulted at all," said Doctor Allen. 
"It occupies a position not on a solid 
rock, but above the ground; the chamber 
of the tomb is lined with marble, and has 
not the least resemblance to a cave in the 
rock ; and it is located inside the city walls 
as they existed in Christ's time, while all 
admit that the true Calvary must have oc- 
cupied a place outside of those walls. But 
let us go now to a point outside the Da- 
mascus Gate called Jeremiah's Grotto, and 
we shall see how much we are indebted to 
Doctor Conder, who labored in connection 
with the Palestine Exploration Fund, for 
ably pointing out in 1870 that in all prob- 
ability the place where the crucifixion took 
place is this rocky knoll." And soon they 
were there. " This knoll presents a strik- 
ing resemblance to a human skull, which 
corresponds to the words in the Revised 
version, ' the place which is called the skull/ 
The following points of evidence in favor 
of this being the actual scene of the cru- 
cifixion are striking : It was certainly out- 
42 



Jerusalem 



side the walls of the city in the time of 
Christ; it was at the junction of the two 
main roads from south to north, and from 
north to east, and consequently there would 
be many passers-by (Matt. 27 : 39; Mark 
15 : 29) ; this hill is called by the Jews 
to-day, as it has always been called, 'The 
Hill of Execution' ; it is held as an ac- 
cursed spot, and Jews even now when they 
pass it, spit and throw stones in its direc- 
tion, uttering this imprecation, ' Cursed be 
he who destroyed our nation by aspiring to 
be king thereof.' When I was here five 
years ago I studied for ten days this and 
other localities, and I was deeply impressed 
by the place and its surroundings. On 
this skull-shaped mound outside of the 
gate of Damascus, the whole transaction 
could have been seen by the vast multitudes 
that thronged the public thoroughfares at 
that season, and the priests could have 
witnessed the terrible tragedy from the 
walls of the city or from the tower of 
Antonia." 

' \ If this little hill is established as the 
Golgotha of the New Testament, the sep- 
43 



TOncle mien's lpart£ in Palestine 



ulchre in which the Lord was laid must 
be somewhere near," said Cousin Serena 
in a low and awed tone, " for in John we 
read, ' Now in the place where he was cru- 
cified there was a garden ; and in the 
garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never 
man yet laid. There laid they Jesus there- 
fore because of the Jews' preparation day; 
for the sepulchre was nigh at hand/ The 
garden containing the tomb was therefore 
quite close to the spot where the cross 
stood." 

" You are quite right about that," said 
Doctor Allen ; " and do you know, a tomb 
that seems to correspond remarkably with 
the biblical account has lately been exca- 
vated, and while there has been little pub- 
lished about it, a company of English 
Christians have bought the spot and the 
garden near by, and doubtless we shall 
hear much of it in the near future. It is 
located two hundred and thirty feet from 
the summit of the knoll supposed to be 
Golgotha; it is hewn out of the solid rock, 
and evidently was the tomb of a rich man 
(Joseph, of Arimathea) ; it is located in 
44 



Jerusalem 



a garden ; the whole structure of the tomb 
shows how the disciple could have stooped 
down and looked in without entering; it 
consists of a chamber cut in the rock seven 
feet six inches in height, fourteen feet six 
inches long, and eleven feet two inches 
wide, having a low partition dividing the 
tomb in two parts ; in each are three re- 
ceptacles for human bodies, but only one 
of these appears to have been actually- 
completed ; and portions of the ' scale ' 
which was loose at the bottom of the re- 
ceptacle, which evidently had been used, 
was taken to the British Museum, where 
the authorities declared that * no body ever 
decomposed in the tomb if this is from 
the bottom of it/ " 

6 'There are strong evidences that the 
Crusaders knew of this tomb," remarked 
Philip, when they stood in its small rooms, 
as he looked for the two crosses in- 
scribed on the wall, at the eastern end in 
red paint, with the letters ' ' Alpha" and 
" Omega" at the corners. "It is said 
that an arched building once existed in 
front of the tomb, supposed to have been 
45 



TUncle milen's 1part£ in Palestine 



erected in the twelfth century. How I 
wish I could read this inscription. If these 
outlines were only filled out we might know 
how those who, centuries age, looked upon 
the sepulchre, regarded it." 

"Do, uncle, let me see what's in this 
little room," said Katharine, who had lis- 
tened with great attention to all that had 
been said as they stood upon this sacred 
spot, and she motioned to a room cut in 
the rock just below the skull-shaped hill. 

They entered and were met by an 
elderly man, who told them he lived to 
watch over the new-found tomb, and in- 
sisted that this house was occupied by the 
gardener whom Mary thought she saw 
when she looked upon the risen Lord. 



46 



CHAPTER III 



EAST OF THE CITY 

T was on a quiet Sunday after- 
noon, after having spent sev- 
eral hours on the mount of 
Olives, that Doctor Allen led 
his party toward the stone wall that sur- 
rounds the garden of Gethsemane at the 
juncture of the paths that lead to Bethany. 
An old monk answered his knock, and 
passing through a low gate, they entered a 
carefully kept garden which was bought 
some years ago by the Latin Church, and 
which contains some ancient and gnarled 
olive trees. As Katharine and Philip fol- 
lowed the well-paved walk running around 
the circuit of the garden, they noticed the 
pictures on the walls representing scenes 
which took place on the last night of our 
Lord's life, before the supreme event on 
Golgotha. 

47 




Ulncle Bllen's fl>att£ in Palestine 



" Look at the passion vine, how it trails 
about the walls ! And this other vine, 
what is it? " she asked of the old monk, 
and he told her it was " worm- wood." 

Cousin Serena and Doctor Allen had 
paused before a marble canopy enclosing 
Canova's bas-relief of ' 'The Agony," 
while the rest of the party passed on to 
"The Grotto of Agony," excavated in 
the rock, which is reached by a flight 
of rudely cut steps. The interior is cir- 
cular, about fifteen feet in diameter, and 
the roof, supported by pilasters, is per- 
forated to admit into the dark place the 
light of day. Just here many believe the 
"Light of the World," "The Sun of 
Righteousness," passed into an eclipse, 
that he might come forth from the shad- 
ows of that dark hour to illumine the 
world by the glory of the cross. 

It was with many a backward glance 
and many a sigh of regret that our friends 
turned from Jerusalem. But Doctor Allen 
assured them that to miss the wondrous 
ravine of the Jordan, was to fail to see 
something unlike anything else on the face 
48 



JEast of tbe Cit£ 



of the earth. Here one passes the three- 
fold site of the pre-historic, the Jewish, 
and the Herodian Jericho, haunted by the 
martial memories of Joshua's reign, of the 
vanguard of Ben-Israel, and by those of 
many romantic and picturesque episodes 
belonging to the school of the prophets ; 
by memories of the Egyptian Cleopatra, 
of the journey of Jesus, of the Essenes 
and early Christians, and by many other 
events of sacred and secular history of 
thrilling interest. 

The view that burst upon their admiring 
eyes, near the traditional spot where the 
prophet sweetened the bitter waters, was 
of unsurpassed grandeur. 

" In my trip around the world," said 
Doctor Allen, ' 'with one exception, I 
have seen no view that exceeds this in 
grandeur." 

"It is like a panorama of central Pal- 
estine spread out before our eyes, is it 
not?" said Cousin Serena. 

" Yes," said Doctor Allen; "a range 
of nearly one hundred miles lies before 



TUncle Bllen's lpartE in lpalesttne 



' ' Even the Dead Sea is beautiful in the 
distance," said Katharine; "and see how 
Mt. Nebo and Mt. Pisgah stand like watch- 
towers of the Promised Land ! To think 
of our eyes looking upon the same scenes 
that Abraham and Jacob gazed upon as 
they came from Mesopotamia ! And it is 
much the same to-day as when it was un- 
folded before the eyes of Balaam and 
Moses. '* 

"Look toward Jerusalem. Isn't that 
Mt. Olivet ? " asked Cousin Serena, shad- 
ing her eyes with her hands so that she 
might feast them upon the lovely view. 
" And do you see the white road stretch- 
ing through the hilly country ? No doubt 
it was pressed by the feet of Christ and 
his disciples as they came over the way 
from Jerusalem to Jericho ; and so shall 
we walk this road before we enter the Holy 
City again. It seems too grand to be true 
that my eyes are dwelling upon these 
scenes. Look through this field-glass, 
Katharine, and you can see going along 
this old highway a long caravan of Rus- 
sian and French pilgrims solemnly moving 
5o 



Bast of tbe CttE 



toward the Jordan. Do you see it flash- 
ing in the sunlight below us, and toward 
the south the waters of the Dead Sea ?~" 

" I wonder if you would enjoy taking a 
plunge into that salt sea?" said Uncle 
Allen. "You have no idea how difficult 
it is to sink in the dead, heavy liquid." 

" What do you wish to sink for, uncle? 99 
said Katharine innocently, and was re- 
warded by a tap on her pretty pink cheek. 
Her uncle continued to improve her mind 
by giving her some description of this 
most remarkable body of water. 

" In length it is about forty miles, and 
in width nine miles ; its waters are as bit- 
ter as alum ; it throws up masses of bitu- 
men, and pumice-stone lines the shores; 
vegetation is not seen in its immediate 
neighborhood. This was the locality se* 



TUncte mien's ffi>art£ in Palestine 



lected by Lot when he separated from 
Abraham. It was then a rich region 
watered by the Jordan, in which were 
located the cities of Sodom and Gomor- 
rah. The destruction of these places, it 
is thought, occurred about nineteen hun- 
dred years before Christ. The earthquake 
accompanying volcanic action (Gen. 19 : 
28) caused the valley to sink to great 
depths, and the Jordan flowing in pro- 
duced the sea, which was made salt by 
the saline strata exposed to the action of 
the water. On the southwest side of the 
sea is a mountain, which is known as 
Usdun (Sodom), out of which stands a 
lofty pillar composed of strata of salt, 
which is sometimes called 'Lot's Wife.' 
It is over forty feet high and is capped 
with limestone. If you dip anything in 
the waters of the Dead Sea and withdraw 
it, the water almost immediately evapor- 
ates, leaving a thin crust of salt." 

"Is there any certainty as to the place 
where the Saviour was baptized ? ' ' asked 
Cousin Serena, her eyes seeking the place 
where the river flowed into the sea. " How 
52 



TEast ot tbe City 



I would like to stand upon the very spot ! 
And would it be wrong to wish to have 
been buried beneath the wave where our 
Great Example bowed his sacred head?" 
she added, musing to herself, as her ap- 
preciative eyes scanned the spot pointed 
out by Dr. Allen in answer to her question. 

"Near where the Jordan empties into 
the Dead Sea is the traditional place," he 
answered. "Not far from this spot the 
Israelites crossed from Moab ; in this 
neighborhood Elijah divided the waters 
with his mantle, and it was doubtless 
about here that Jesus crossed when he 
visited Decapod." 

"And this is Bethany!" exclaimed 
Cousin Serena as, returning from the Jor- 
dan and the Dead Sea, they came to the 
little village of Bethany, which is so inti- 
mately associated with the inner life and 
loving labors of our Lord. 

" Do you think we can find the home 
of Mary and Martha and their brother 
Lazarus ? ' ' asked Katharine earnestly of 
her uncle. But her enthusiasm was rather 
53 



TUncle BUen's fl>art£ in Palestine 



cooled than otherwise when informed by 
their ever-accommodating dragoman that 
there were two homes of Mary and Martha, 
one owned by the Latins and one by the 
Greeks. The reputed tomb of Lazarus, 
which is reached by twenty-nine steps be- 
low the surface of the rock, was also to 
be seen. 

' ' How much more attractive than Jeri- 
cho is Bethany," said Doctor Allen, "the 
former, except for its picturesque scenery, 
being quite unattractive." 

As the party walked about the little 
town where the Christ loved to linger and 
spend a quiet time away from the din and 
turmoil of Jerusalem, they remarked that 
it seemed to have a contented community. 

"The women are just what I imagine 
Mary and Martha to have been/' said 
Katharine. "And was not that butter- 
milk nice? Did you notice, Phil, how 
pretty that girl was who brought it to us, 
and how gracefully she carried her milk- 
can on her head? I thought you took 
special notice of her," added this irre- 
pressible young person. 

54 



lEaet of tbe Cits 



As they passed over the little pathway- 
winding along the side of Mt. Olivet, from 
southeast to northwest in the rear of the 
village of Silwan, thence to the garden of 
Gethsemane, they crossed the valley of 
Kidron and came to the city gate. This 
is thought to have been the very route 
taken by the Saviour when he made his 
triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. 

Nearing the town of Silwan there were 
general exclamations of delight over the 
groves of figs and olives, the vineyards 
and the fields of moving grain. 

* 6 These gardens," said Doctor Allen, 
s 6 supply the market at Jerusalem with 
vegetables and small fruit. The people 
who live about here seem to be thrifty and 
industrious, and although the soil is very 
thin and rocky, every hillside has been 
terraced, the stones carefully removed 
from the ground, and every bit of the pre- 
cious soil has been utilized." 

" Did you notice the tombs as we came 
along the valley of Jehoshaphat and the 
mount of Olives?" asked Philip of Doc- 
tor Allen. 

55 



mncle Bllen'6 lpart£ m paleetlne 



"Yes, there is great variety among 
them ; the unpretentious tombs of the He- 
brews, many of them marked by a slab of 
rough limestone without inscription, the 
upright gravestone of the Mohammedan 
set in a base, and now and then memo- 
rials of the dead which are much more 
artistic and elaborate. Along the hill- 
side are chambers for sarcophagi, some 
of which are ornamented by carved fa- 
cades ; other tombs stand above, cut out 
from the solid rock. These sepulchres of 
Zechariah and Jehoshaphat are mis-named, 
as Dr. Edward Robinson says on this 
point : ' It is unnecessary to waste words 
to show that they never had anything to 
do with the persons whose names they 
bear. The intermingling of the Greek 
orders and a spice of the massive Egyp- 
tian taste, which are visible in these monu- 
ments, serve to show that they belong to a 
late period of the Greek and Roman art, 
and especially to that style of mingled 
Greek and Egyptian which prevails in 
the Oriental provinces of the Roman Em- 
pire.' " 

56 



CHAPTER IV 



OI^D LANDMARKS 

HE day after entering Jeru- 
salem over the road from 
Bethany, the morning being 
bright and beautiful, the party 
climbed to the highest point of the Golden 
Gate, and resting there for several hours, 
enjoyed the best view of the vale of Kid- 
ron. It is often called the valley of 
Jehoshaphat (Jehovah judgeth), and lies 
between the most noted hills of the world. 
In this deep gorge, which, beginning north- 
west of the city, stretches along the north 
of Jerusalem eastward, varying in width, 
and after passing the garden of Siloam 
continues its course south and east until it 
widens out toward the Dead Sea, the Jews, 
Catholics, and Mohammedans earnestly 
contend that the last judgment is to take 
place. 

57 




The east side of this valley, viewed from 
the Golden Gate, presents a most striking 
appearance, and calls to mind many thrill- 
ing events of the past. Some of these 
points Doctor Allen proceeded to point 
out to his young folk. 

58 



©ID XanDmarfcs 



" Do you locate the garden of Gethsem- 
ane? Well, look northward beyond St. 
Stephen's Gate, and the main summit of 
the mount of Olives with its entire western 
decline — all that is included in this val- 
ley/ ' 

"I suppose St. Stephen's Gate is called 
for the first Christian martyr," said Cousin 
Serena. "You remember he was 'cast 
out of the city and stoned/ " 

" Let me see who can trace three dis- 
tinct paths, starting from the garden of 
Gethsemane and leading to the summit of 
the mount of Olives,' ' said Doctor Allen. 

The quick young eyes were busy in a 
moment, and then Phil said: "I see one 
lined with stone walls and several persons 
walking along it." 

" Yes," said Doctor Allen, "that is the 
central one." 

"And there is one to the left," said 
Cousin Serena, "that seems to be the main 
highway to the top of the mountain. It is 
very steep." 

" Do you see the one to the south? It 
is circuitous, but the most picturesque way 
59 



iUxxclc Bllen'a IPartE in Palestine 



along this historic hill. These three path- 
ways lead to three distinct summits." 

As they passed around outside the 
walls, the little party was appalled by 
the sight of a score of wretched lepers. 
They were besieged by them for alms, and 
this sight, just after the inspiring study 
from the Golden Gate, was a great shock. 
When seen at a distance they were huddled 
together, but they soon came limping and 
leaping after the tourists, each one holding 
a tiny tin cup with which to receive a coin 
or two ; and from this repulsive group of 
men and women, some with fingers, hands, 
feet, and parts of the face eaten off by the 
dreadful disease, came the strangely pitiful 
cry, "Zees howaedji ! Baksees / Bak- 
sees / " 

The ladies shrank from contact with the 
poor creatures, .and Katharine sought pro- 
tection by creeping close to her uncle's 
side. It was too horrible a spectacle to 
look upon without the greatest revulsion of 
feeling. The graphic descriptions of these 
distressed and God-forsaken people had 

not prepared them for the actual sight of 

60 



©ID Xan&marks 



their misery, and when one of these leprous 
women caught Doctor Allen by the foot, 
a thrill ran through the little group that 
brought suppressed screams to the lips of 
the ladies and exclamations of disgust from 
Philip. 

" I can never forget the indescribable 
picture of abject wretchedness that I have 
this day looked upon," said Doctor Allen, 
as they quickened their steps to keep away 
from their touch. 

" Did you ever see anything so horrible 
as her deformed and bloody face? 99 said 
Katharine. 

"And her poor, reddened eyes were 
filled with tears as they pleaded for the 
money, poor daughter of sorrow! 99 sighed 
Cousin Serena. "There is new meaning 
to me now in the narrative of the healing 
of the leper, when it says, ' And he touched 
the leper and said, I will, be thou clean. 7 
What compassion ! What condescension ! ' 9 

"How did she happen to be so near 
you?" asked Phil of Doctor Allen. 

"In opening my purse, by accident a 

silver piece dropped upon the ground. As 

6i 



Uncle Silent ll>art£ in ipalestine 



quick as a flash the poor wretch grabbed 
the money with a handful of dirt, and with- 
out pausing to express gratitude, limped 
toward her companions with an expression 
of triumph on her face that lit the swollen 
features with a strange delight.' 9 

"What joy to have given them more 
than silver and gold ! " thought Phil, whose 
mind often turned toward the ministry of 
that One of whom it was said, " He went 
about doing good." 

' ' I wish we might see some one thing 
that we could be sure stood in the Holy 
City at the time that the Saviour and 
his disciples lived and walked about its 
streets," said Katharine. "We have to 
take so much for granted in believing all 
these traditions this dragoman tells us so 
glibly." 

They soon saw for themselves some of 
the ancient walls about the Haram area, 
and on the way to them talked over the 
subject of which Katharine spoke. 

"There are three places that we may 
be sure were witnesses of that eventful 

period/ ' said Doctor Allen. " I found an 

62 



©ID Xanfcmarfce 



excellent work by Edward L. Wilson before 
coming here, called 'In Scripture Lands/ 
that I can heartily recommend to you. He 
says : ' There are three places where one 
may see stones that were here when Jesus 
was crucified. One of these is near the 
southwest corner of the temple area, and is 
known as the Jews' Wailing Place. There 
are five courses of stones, one above the 
other, with the beveled joints of Solomon's 
day, forming part of the wall. Here every 
Friday the resident Hebrews come to mourn 
the destruction of the temple and the fall 
of the city of their fathers. Earthquakes 
have slightly displaced the stones, and the 
kisses of the pilgrims of many centuries 
have worn away the quarrymen's chisel 
marks, yet they look as though they might 
serve for many ages to come. At the 
extreme southwest angle of the Haram wall 
is a stone measuring thirty-one feet in 
length, seven feet in width, and five feet in 
height. It is the chief corner-stone, and 
is undoubtedly the one placed there by the 
order of Solomon, to help enclose his tem- 
ple.' 

63 



^ncle Silent ©arts in Palestine 



" I have witnessed no sight more pa- 
thetic than at the Wailing Place. Jerome 
makes an affecting allusion to the remnant 
of mourners in his day, who paid the 
Roman soldiers for the privilege of lean- 
ing against the wall, while they bemoaned 
their fate ; and as we watched these chil- 
dren of ancient Israel holding their sacred 
books, their bodies waving to and fro, their 
lips muttering and wailing out lamentation 
after lamentation, while tears rolled down 
their faces, we could not for a moment 
doubt their sincerity, and a thrill ran 
through us as we recollected their past 
history and their present condition in the 
city of their fathers/' 

" I am so interested in the subterranean 
quarries," said Philip. "I remember 
reading ' Buried Cities ' with so much in- 
terest, and a great deal was said about 
Jerusalem and the possible treasures for 
the archaeologist in the unearthing of her 
foundations.' ' 

" We shall certainly go through them," 
said Doctor Allen, " and you will be greatly 
interested as you pass through the vast 
64 



©ID XanDmarfcs 



succession of mighty aisles and mammoth 
chambers, to see the marks of chiselings 
left centuries ago. You will see niches for 
the lamps of the quanymen, and now and 
then stumble against huge blocks partly 
cut from the rocks, and pillars partly 
shaped and left unfinished.' ' 

"Another point of historic interest is 
Robinson's Arch, so-called after Dr. 
Edward Robinson, who described it in his 
own account. This distinguished writer 
says : * Forty feet north of this stone, half 
hidden by bushes which had to be partly 
cut away to make room for the camera, is 
another place, where we may believe the 
handiwork of Solomon's masons is to be 
seen. There are three courses of huge 
stones in such curious position that they 
seem to have been fired out from the inside 
through a breach in the wall, and there 
caught and wedged fast, instead of falling 
to the ground. A careful view leaves no 
doubt that they formed the segment of an 
arch, for their outer surfaces are hewn to a 
true curve. Each one measures from 
twenty to twenty-four feet in length, and 

E 65 



Ulncle mien's lpart^ in ipalesttne 



from five to six feet in height. They 
must have formed part of one of the arches 
of the great bridge, more than three hun- 
dred and fifty feet in length, over which 
Solomon, attended by his splendid retinue, 
often passed. Centuries later, Jesus too 
passed over this public way. The exist- 
ence of these remains of the ancient bridge 
seems to remove all doubt as to the identity 
of this part of - the enclosure of the mosque 
with that of the ancient temple. How 
they can have remained for so many ages 
unseen or unnoticed by any writer or trav- 
eler, is a problem which I would not under- 
take to solve. Here we have indisputable 
remains of Jewish antiquity, consisting of 
an important portion of the western wall 
of the temple area.' " 

" I thought Herod had the glory of re- 
building the temple, and these remains 
would date back only to his day," said 
Phil. 

' ' They are probably to be referred to a 
period long before the days of Herod, for 
the labors of this splendor-loving tyrant 

appear to have been confined to the body 

66 



©16 Xanfcmarfcs 



of the temple, and the porticos around the 
court. The magnitude of the stones also, 
and the workmanship as compared with 
other remaining monuments of Herod, 
seem to point to an earlier origin. 

' * The character of the southeast corner is 
precisely similar to that of the southwest ; 
the same immense stones as already de- 
scribed, both toward the east and the 
south, on the brink of the valley of Jehosh- 
aphat, and the line of the southern wall at 
this point, corresponding with 
that at the southwest corner. 
We have, then, the two ex- 
tremities of the ancient 
southern wall, which, 
as Josephus in 
forms us, ex- 
tended from 
the eastern 
to the western 
valley, and 
could not be 
prolonged far- 
ther. Thus, 
we are led ir- 




TUncle BUen's ©artE in ©aleattne 



resistibly to the conclusion that the area 
of the Jewish temple was identical on its 
western, eastern, and southern sides with 
the present enclosure of the Haram. A 
fourth relic still standing, which must have 
been familiar to our Saviour, is the tower 
of Hippicus, or the tower of David, so 
called. 

' ' When Herod built this great wall about 
Jerusalem, he built three strong towers 
toward the northwest. One of these was 
Hippicus; the second was Phasaelus, 
named after his friend ; and the third was 
Mariamne, after his favorite wife. These 
strongholds were connected with one 
another and with the royal palace. The 
first named has been identified by some 
with the lower portion of the citadel, 
a splendid example of the masonry of 
antiquity. It is situated near to Zion, 
and a little south of Joppa Gate, and still 
serves, or its adjacent buildings serve, 
as the citadel of Jerusalem. The sturdy, 
sloping bulwark is said to be solid. No 
entrance has ever been discovered, and the 

stones are quarried like those of the Jews' 

68 



©ID Xanfcmarks 



Wailing Place. From its summit, one has 
fine views of the City of David." 

' ' Suppose we go on horseback to-day 
to vary our mode of traveling ? I see 
there are saddle horses to be had here for 
that purpose." 

All agreed to this proposition with more 
or less enthusiasm, and the start was made 
from the Joppa Gate. Leaving Jerusalem to 
the north, they passed into the valley of 
Gihon on their way to the birthplace of the 
"King of Kings." Every new view of 
the historic valley, its meadows, and hil- 
locks, recalls events that are and shall 
always be of stupendous importance and 
thrilling interest to the world. This is the 
plain which marked the boundary between 
Judah and Benjamin when the Philistines 
were defeated by David. 

Coming to a well, the dragoman told them 
that there is a tradition that the wise men 
from the East on their way to the manger 
of the child Jesus, stopping to draw water, 
saw the star reflected in the water. Here 

is the spot where it is said the prophet Eli- 

69 



mncle mien's ©arts in ipalesthte 



jah rested in his flight from the fiery Jeze- 
bel; and less than a mile farther, is the 
tomb of Rachel, which brings to mind the 
touching story of the death of Jacob's 
loved wife, just before she reached her 
journey's end, as given in the thirty-fifth 
chapter of Genesis. 

After a short six-mile ride on an elon- 
gated hill, well cultivated in terraces around 
the sides and with fertile grain fields in the 
valley below, they looked upon Bethlehem. 

' 'See that group of women dressed in 
white standing yonder on that terrace just 
under the tower. Look, how they are ges- 
ticulating to one another as they talk ! " 

" It reminds me of the group that sur- 
rounded Naomi, the sorrow-stricken widow, 
returning to this her native home, with 
exclamations of surprise at her haggard 
face," said Cousin Serena. 

" And all these men and women here 

in the field cutting grain make me think of 

Ruth gleaning after the reapers," said 

Doctor Allen, "whom Boaz saw in these 

very fields about Bethlehem and loved her 

for her love ; so in process of time she 
70 



©U> XanDmarfcs 



became the great-grandmother of David 
the king and the ancestress of Christ." 

" I always thought Ruth a charming 
young widow. Didn't you, Phil?" said 
Katharine. 

Uncle Allen looked intently at the young 
lady to hold her attention as he went on to 
speak of how the ruddy young David kept 
his father's sheep upon these very hills, 
" Just as that young boy is doing on the 
green slope before you; and it was in the 
sunshine and shadow by these vales and 
hillocks that God created within him those 
treasures of music and poetry that have 
enriched all the centuries. The Scripture 
allusions to Bethlehem, which we now 
enter, are very numerous. Here it was 
that Samuel anointed David to be king of 
Israel ; in the adjacent hill country the 
shepherd boy encountered wild beasts, 
composed his earliest psalms, and from 
here he was sent to minister to the diseased 
mind of Saul by his melodious harpings. 
Hence he went forth to see his brethren 
with the army, and slay the giant champion 
of Philistia." They were standing on an 
7i 



mncle BUen's fl>art£ in Palestine 



elevated and most picturesque spot near the 
walls of the old city, from which the shep- 
herd's field, with its green meadows and 
hill slopes could be plainly seen. "As 
you look out upon the charming landscape, 
yonder in the distance can be seen a group 
of shepherds with long crooks in their 
hands, watching over their flocks as they 
quietly feed in the valley. My guide in- 
forms me that all during the spring months 
in these fields, the shepherds watch their 
sheep by night. 

' ' ' And there were in the same country 
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping 
watch over their flock by night. And, lo, 
the angel of the Lord came upon them, 
and the glory of the Lord shone round 
about them; and they were sore afraid. 
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: 
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of 
great joy, which shall be to all people. 
For unto you is born this day in the city 
of David a Saviour, which is Christ the 
Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; 
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swad- 
dling clothes, lying in a manger. And 
72 



©R> ILan&marfce 



suddenly there was with the angel a mul- 
titude of the heavenly host praising God, 
and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and 
on earth peace, good will toward men/ " 
repeated Doctor Allen, and the words had 
never before sounded so impressive to 
those listening ears. 

"This little city was one of the strong- 
holds fortified by Rehoboam after the divi- 
sion of the kingdom, and it figured con- 
spicuously in the political life of the an- 
cient Hebrews. But," said Doctor Allen, 
" above all, it was the prophecy of Micah 
and its wonderful fulfillment which makes 
Bethlehem a household word wherever 
Christianity is professed, and causes mil- 
lions all over the world to turn their 
thoughts toward this Judean village, as 
Christmastide comes around/' and he 
quoted the words of Holy Writ : ' ' And 
thou Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be 
little among the thousands of Judah, yet 
out of thee shall he come forth unto me 
that is to be ruler in Israel ; whose goings 
forth have been from of old, from ever- 
lasting/ " 

73 



TUncle Sllen's parts in Palestine 



' ' To think that over these very hills re- 
sounded the song of the angels, ' On earth 
peace, good will to men/ I'll never sing 
that beautiful hymn, ' Hark, hark my soul, 
angelic songs are swelling,' without think- 
ing of this scene," said Cousin Serena 
softly. 

Soon going into the village they found 
in the eastern extremity the church of the 
Nativity, a confused, fortress-like pile of 
buildings, and near it three convents, be- 
longing respectively to the Latin, Greek, 
and Armenian Churches. 

"The nave of this church," said Phil, 
who had been intently reading his guide- 
book, "is supposed to be the oldest monu- 
ment of Christian architecture in the 
world. It is the church of St. Helena, 
named for the Emperor Constantine's 
mother. There are forty-four marble 
columns taken from Mount Moriah, sup- 
posed to have been originally in the porches 
of the great temple." 

" Can't we go down this special stair- 
case?" said Katharine, who was in ad- 
vance, gazing down into the grotto below. 
74 



©ID XanDmarfcs 



' ' Yes," said the dragoman, ' ' that is 
the grotto of the nativity." 

This proved to be a cave in the rock 
over and around which the church and con- 
vent buildings are reared. The vault is 
thirty-three feet by eleven feet, lined with 
Italian marble, and decorated with numer- 
ous lamps, figures of saints, embroidery, 
and other ornaments. A silver star on the 
floor of the grotto indicates the traditional 
spot where the Saviour was born ; above it 
sixteen silver lamps are perpetually burn- 
ing, and around the star are the words, 
"Hie de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus 
Natus est" (" Here was born of the 
Virgin Mary Jesus Christ "). That caves 
in the hillside adjacent to the inn were 
utilized as stables for cattle, especially 
when the inn was crowded, and that in 
such a cave the Redeemer was born, is a 
tradition commonly accepted as early as 
the time of Justin Martyr, about a hundred 
years after the facts occurred. This, there- 
fore, may be the actual place of Christ's 
birth. 

" St. Jerome, I have read," said Doctor 
75 



TUncle BUen'e IPartE in ipalesttne 



Allen, " ardently believed in this place as 
the Saviour's birthplace, and spent the 
greater part of his life just here. Here 
he fasted, prayed, dreamed, and studied; 
here he gathered around him his devoted 
followers in the small communities which 
formed the beginning of conventual life in 
Palestine ; here his fiery spirit vented itself 
in the treatises, letters, and commentaries 
which he sent forth from his retirement to 
terrify and enlighten the western world; 
here he made the famous translation of the 
Scriptures which is still the Biblia Vul- 
gata of the Latin Church ; and here took 
place his pathetic death, which Domen- 
ichino has so vividly portrayed in his 
world-renowned picture.' ' 

* ' How often I have thought of this 
place," said Cousin Serena, as they stood 
by David's well near the outskirts of the 
town. "How natural for David to sigh 
for the cool water from the gates of his 
native town, just as I suppose hundreds of 
others have done since his day, when their 
thoughts would revert to the scenes of their 
childhood.' ' 

76 



Qlb 3LanDmark6 



" I remember the sweetest little book I 
had when I was a little girl/' said Kathar- 
ine, ' 'called ' Sweet Old Strains/ and one 
of the illustrations was a picture of three 
warriors of David's picking their way at 
night through the ranks of the enemy, and 
bringing their helmets filled with the cool 
water for their chief." 

" Where is the story found? " said Phil. 
" I must re-read it to-night." 

" You will find it in both 2 Sam. 23 and 
1 Chron. 11. And you remember David 
would not drink the coveted draught, be- 
cause the lives of his men had been 
hazarded, but poured it out as a libation 
before the Lord," said Doctor Allen. 



77 



CHAPTER V 



IN JUDKA 




TELL you, these pools of Sol- 
omon make you respect the 
engineering of those days and 
the work of the masons, as 
well, ,, said Phil. " To think of the water 
being carried nearly fourteen miles ! for 
the course of this acqueduct can be traced 
to the court of the temple, you know. The 
idea of these pools dating from the time of 
Solomon ! though they were restored by 
Pontius Pilate, I believe, and I read some- 
where that the Turkish government has on 
hand funds for the restoration of these 
pools to their original state of usefulness." 

* 4 Look at that huge building with cas- 
tellated walls near the upper pool. That 
is clearly of Saracenic origin and now 
serves as barracks. Does anyone remem- 
ber to have read of the sealed fountain 
78 



Hn 5uDea 



of Solomon in the Song of Solomon 4 : 
12 ?" continued Doctor Allen, pointing to 
a little grotto at some distance, as his 
party stood admiring the immense cisterns 
of marble masonry. " I don't think any 
of you but Phil, perhaps, will be interested 
in their measurement ; but Doctor Thomson 
gives minute account of them. He says, 
' The lower pool is in length five hundred 
and eighty-two feet; breadth, east end, two 
hundred and seven feet, west, one hundred 
and forty-eight feet ; depth at east end fifty 
feet. When full it would float the largest 
man-of-war that ever plowed the ocean. 
The middle pool is located two hundred 
and forty-eight feet above the lower pool, 
and is four hundred and twenty-three feet 
in length, two hundred and fifty feet in 
breadth at the east end, and one hundred 
and sixty feet at the west end, and is thirty- 
nine feet in depth at the east end. The 
upper pool is one hundred and sixty feet 
above the middle pool, and the length is 
three hundred and eighty feet ; its breadth 
at the east end is two hundred and thirty- 
six feet, at the west end two hundred and 
79 



•mncle mien's ipatt^ in Palestine 



twenty-nine feet, and it has a depth of 
twenty-five feet.' " 

" Uncle always thinks Phil is so superior, 
and flatters him so that his head will be 
completely turned,' ' said Miss Malapert, 
as Doctor Allen closed the book from which 
he had been reading these extracts. "I 
like to hear about Solomon's Pools and 
their dimensions too," in an injured tone. 
* ' 1 doubt whether Phil would have been as 
alert as the queen of Sheba was, however, 
when she took that inventory of the adorn- 
ments of Solomon's palace, and cut the 
patterns of his courtiers' dress suits, and 
even remarked upon the number of pea- 
cock feathers he decorated his palace with. 
I have never wondered that her spirit died 
within her. She was so perfectly exhausted 
with her efforts to see everything at a glance. 
I doubt if Hiram saw as much on his visit, 
or was able to tell it as well on his return 
home. Women are very superior to men, 
I think." 

" In the matter of cutting patterns, no 
doubt," retorted Phil, as he made some 

notes in his book of reference. 

80 



Hn 5uDea 



The three hours' ride over the rough 
road leading southward from these pools 
was quite fatiguing; but the olive groves, 
vineyards, and fig gardens to be seen on 
each side much of the way, afforded diver- 
sion, as did also the sight of the merchants 
with their long camel trains, which were 
frequently met. Across the fields were the 
husbandmen following their one handled 
plows drawn by donkeys and oxen. Soon 
they reached a spot where the Jews say 
Abraham pitched his tent, and it is still 
called the house of Abraham. 

* ' As we are passing over the old road 
to Hebron/ ' said Doctor Allen, "prob- 
ably the oldest road in the world, let us in- 
dulge ourselves in some reminiscences, and 
we will each contribute as memory fur- 
nishes us the facts. Over it Abraham 
passed on that journey of faith to sacrifice 
his son of promise on Mount Moriah. ,, 

" David led his faithful host over it, 
when he took the stronghold of the Jebu- 
sites on Mount Zion," added Philip. "And 
I suppose Isaac, Jacob, and Solomon, all 

in turn, went along this way." 

f 81 



Hn SuDea 



" May not the child Jesus have been 
borne in his mother's arms along this way 
as they fled into Egypt ? ' ' asked Cousin 
jJpSrsJig^r a vely . 

Jjf^ptjrc.an't think of anything, I am so 
lifeS?" said Katharine; but the smiles and 
dimples came back to the winsome face 
when Phil promptly offered some luscious 
fruit that had been provided by their 
thoughtful conductor. 

In the best of humor the party passed 
through the gate of the old city of Hebron, 
one of the most ancient cities of the world. 
The guide told them that it was built seven 
years before Zoan (Num. 13 : 22) in Egypt, 
and when Josephus wrote, it was two thou- 
sand and three hundred years old. It was 
a walled city in the time of Abraham 
(Gen. 23: 10). Damascus was also a city 
at the same time ; but which can claim sen- 
iority is not known. 

" Here lived the father of his people and 
the friend of God," remarked Doctor Allen 
meditatively. 

' 'And was it not one of the cities of 
refuge? 99 said Cousin Serena. " And did 
S3 



TUncle Bllen'e parts tn Palestine 



not David live here several years, when 
he reigned over Judah alone? 99 

" I remember Hebron in conection with 
Absalom and his beautiful hair and hand- 
some figure," added Katharine, breaking 
the silence she had kept for an unusual . 
length of time. " What a dude he was, to 
be sure ! ' ' 

" Do you see that great pool, over yon- 
der? " said the guide, pointing toward the 
right. " On its wall David hanged the 
hands and feet of those who murdered the 
son of Saul." 

This narrow valley still abounds in vine- 
yards and its name brings to mind the spies 
and the grapes of Eshcol. 

" How dark and dirty the streets are ! 99 
said Cousin Serena. " And what a queer 
look the houses have with those cupolas or 
domes/ ' 

' 'Do look at those Jews with their pale 
faces and those ringlets ! " whispered 
Katharine, pinching Cousin Serena until 
that very proper person could scarcely re- 
frain from speaking out in louder tones 
than she was wont. 

84 



Hn 5u5ea 



" Have you anything in your guide book 
about the population of the city, Katha- 
rine ?" asked Uncle Allen, remembering 
her complaint about Phil being thought so 
superior in matters of reference. 

' ' Yes , sir , ' ' she quickly replied . ' ' There 
are one thousand two hundred people liv- 
ing in this old town, six hundred of whom 
are Jews. ' The Moslems/ " reading from 
her book, " 1 who make up the rest of the 
population, are noted for their rank fanati- 
cism and superstition, which fact makes it 
dangerous for Christians to visit the place 
unguarded/ " 

"I heard that recently an Englishman 
was set upon by a crowd of these roughs 
and only escaped with his life, ' ' added 
Phil modestly. 

" I am glad to see this Turkish official 
at the entrance of the city," said Cousin 
Serena, looking intently at him, as, armed 
to the teeth, he escorted them into the city 
and went before them in all their walks 
and drives. "We shall compliment him 
by looking upon him as our ' Great- 
heart. ,,, 

85 



tUncle mien's H>art£ in ©aleatme 



" This morning we shall visit the great- 
est object of interest in Hebron/' said the 
guide, as they prepared to go out for a 
day's sight-seeing, "and that is the cave 
of Machpelah. It seems strange that the 
Turkish Government should be allowed to 
close the doors of this cave that is of such 
interest to the Christian world and to all 
who are concerned about ancient Israel. 
The only Christian visitors who have ever 
crossed the threshold of the building that 
covers the cave are the Prince of Wales 
with his attendants, the Marquis of Bute, 
the Crown Prince of Prussia, General Lew 
Wallace, Princes Albert Victor and George 
of Wales. I will show you rents and cracks 
along the walls where devout Jews are 
accustomed to place written prayers, ad- 
dressed to their Father Abraham. I have 
seen an exact copy of one of those prayer- 
ful epistles, and the Jewish mother who 
wrote it, and attempted to put it into the 
cave where the bodies of her distinguished 
ancestors rest, appeals most pathetically 
for individual, domestic, and national bless- 
ings/' 

86 



Hn 3uDea 



"This spot/' said Doctor Allen, "is 
believed to be the only spot on earth which 
attracts to it all who possess the one creed, 
' I believe in God.' The Holy Sepulchre 
in Jerusalem separates Moslem, Jew, and 
Christian, but here they come with a rever- 
ence equally affectionate. It recalls some 
of the most touching of the Old Testament 
scenes. When Sarah, the wife of the pa- 
triarch, died, we read that 'Abraham stood 
up from before his dead, and spake unto 
the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger 
and a sojourner with you : give me a pos- 
session of a burying place with you, that I 
may bury my dead out of my sight.' The 
contract was made in the gate of the city, 
and the field, the cave, the trees in the 
field, ail ' were made sure unto Abraham 
for a possession. . . And . . . Abraham 
buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the 
field of Machpelah.' As Jacob lay dying, 
he tenderly spoke of the cave of Machpe- 
lah, and said : c There they buried Abra- 
ham and Sarah his wife ; there they buried 
Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I 
buried Leah.' He gave explicit directions 
87 



Tflncle Bllen's lpart^ tn ©aleetine 



that his body should rest there with his 
fathers." 

" I suppose there was never a grander 
funeral than that of Jacob/ ' said Phil, who 
had turned to the Bible account as his uncle 
was relating these interesting facts, "when 
Joseph with 'all the servants of Pharaoh, 



hour's walk to Abraham's Oak, outside the 
town. 

" Of course I do not believe that this 
was the very oak tree that stood before the 
door of Abraham's tent that day when he 
entertained the visitors who told him of the 
coming destruction of Sodom and Gomor- 
rah, but it certainly is venerable," said 




the elders of his house, and 
all the elders of the land of 
Egypt, and all the house 
of Joseph, and his breth- 
ren, and his father's house 
. . . both chariots and 
horsemen,' carried the em- 
balmed body from Egypt 
into Canaan to the cave of 
Machpelah." 



Then they took half an 



88 



Hn Jufcea 



Cousin Serena, as they stood before a 
grand old tree and admired it for its 
strength and age. " If it could tell us its 
age and all the scenes it has witnessed, 
what a history we would have ! " 

"One thing is certain, and that is, that 
in this neighborhood the conference be- 
tween Abraham and his heavenly guests 
did take place," said the guide. 

To spend thirty days in saddle and tent 
is not a very restful experience, but it must 
be undertaken if one would cover the length 
and breadth of Palestine and visit all the 
places of sacred and secular history that 
have made this wonderful land so famous. 

Our party, having already spent some 
time in the country between Jaffa and 
Jerusalem, in the Holy City, and the re- 
gion about the Jordan and the Dead Sea, 
as well as in the country south of Jerusa- 
lem, proposed to turn north, accompanied 
by an intelligent conductor and a native 
dragoman, who furnished horses, servants, 
and provisions for a trip of several weeks. 

A congenial party of ten Anglo-Saxons, 

89 



Uncle BUen'5 H>art£ in ©alesttne 



forming quite a caravan, moved out of Je- 
rusalem with them, after visiting the rock- 
hewn sepulchre known as the " Tombs of 
the Kings.' ' As they reach the beautiful 
hill Scopus, they pause to take a last view 
of Jerusalem, 4 'beautiful for situation," 
which leaves an indelible impression upon 
the mind. Reluctantly they turn away at 
last, Doctor Allen having to call several 
times to Phil and Katharine, whose eyes 
were fastened upon the Holy City with a 
fascination they could not resist. 

" I feel as though we shall see nothing 
else in our travels that will interest us as has 
the visit to Jerusalem/ ' said Cousin Serena. 
" I reached the acme of my highest hopes 
and aspirations when I stood ' within her 
walls/ and do not wonder that the psalmist 
cried, ' If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let 
my right hand forget her cunning, ... if I 
prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy / " 
And the sweet, pensive light that shone 
in her clear blue eyes was reflected in the 
brown eyes of her young charge and com- 
panion, who, as she lingered behind, gazed 
intently upon the city of the Great King. 
9° 



Hn Jufcea 



At last Phil laid his hand upon the 
bridle of her horse and led her toward the 
others, who had preceded them for some 
little distance. 

"I never felt more impressed with a 
view than I was with this last sight of Je- 
rusalem,' ' said Katharine; for though full 
of fun and frolic, there was much of ear- 
nestness in her nature. It was to Phil that 
she oftenest showed this side of her dis- 
position, and he was learning to look for 
confidences of this kind, even when she 
had been particularly frivolous for Cousin 
Serena's benefit. 

" Nor I," said he. " No wonder that 
to the Jews this city was of peculiar pride 
and pleasure. I can better understand 
now that outburst of the psalmist : * Walk 
about Zion, and go round about her: tell 
the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bul- 
warks. Peace be within thy walls, and 
prosperity within thy palaces.' 99 

"But let us canter along and join the 
rest of the party," said Katharine, urging 
her horse forward and challenging Phil to 
overtake her with a mocking backward 
9i 



Iflncle mien's H>att£ in ftalestine 

glance at him, which set this thoughtful 
young man to wondering if he should ever 
be able to quite comprehend a woman who 
so quickly changed from " grave to gay." 



92 



CHAPTER VI 



NORTHWARD 

HE town of Nob was soon 
passed, where David came 
for Goliath's sword, where he 
ate the shew bread, an act 
which Christ refers to, and where the 
tabernacle and ark were stationed in the 
time of Saul. 

As they neared the site of Gibeah, the 
native place of the first king of Israel, 
and where seven descendants of Saul were 
hanged by the Amorites, Doctor Allen 
said: " I remember seeing once a most 
striking picture of Rizpah watching beside 
her dead, illustrating one of the most 
touching incidents of motherly love on 
record. Do you recall the story in second 
Samuel, the twenty-first chapter?" 

Cousin Serena did ; but Phil and Kath- 
arine had very hazy recollections of it, and 
93 




Tftncle Allen's parts in Palestine 



promised to look it up and read it as soon 
as they could conveniently do so. 

' ' Who can tell the meaning of Mizpah ? ' ' 
asked Cousin Serena as they came to the 
place where Saul was chosen king, and 
Katharine hastened to appease her watch- 
ful chaperon by repeating the words so 
familiar to young people now. 

"To the North is Gibeon. And here," 
said their conductor, "is where Solomon 
offered the thousand burnt offerings and 
where the Lord appeared to him in a 
dream." 

"A costly religion was that of the 
Jews," remarked Doctor Allen; "and 
does it not seem that we who live under the 
new dispensation, with so much of prophecy 
fulfilled and illumined by the light from 
Calvary, should offer more willingly of our 
substance? If the Jew could give a tenth 
of his income, how much more should a 
Christian give? " 

They stopped for a short while at the 
spot where tradition says Mary missed the 
young boy Jesus and returning to Jeru- 
salem found him in the temple, asking and 
94 



IRortbwarD 



answering questions. An hour later they 
reached Bethel. 

"Here Abraham raised an altar," said 
Doctor Allen. 

" And here Jacob, weary with his forty 

miles' journey, laid his head upon a pillow 

of stone, and had that wondrous dream of 

angels ascending and descending," said 

Cousin Serena. ' ' That stanza written by 

Sarah F. Adams, 

" Tho' like the wanderer, 
The sun gone down, 

will take on truer meaning and sweetness 
after having been on the spot where Jacob 
exclaimed : ' This is none other but the 
house of God, and this is the gate of 
heaven. And he called the name of that 
place Bethel.' Here it was that Jeroboam 
set up a golden calf and tried to wean the 
people from the service of God, and here- 
abouts the bears came out and tore forty- 
two youths who cried to Elisha, ' Go up, 
thou bald head.' " 

' 1 That always seemed to me to be too 
dreadful to be true," said Katharine, with 
a little shudder. 

95 



TUncle alien's H>art£ tn Palestine 



"You must remember,' ' said Doctor 
Allen, " that that was a time in the history 
of the nation when great principles had to 
be laid down as foundations for future 
ages, and great truths were to be impressed 
by object lessons, never to be forgotten. 
Mark the intense cruelties practised in their 
warfare, in exterminating whole nations, 
men, women, and even innocent children 
falling victims to the barbarities of war; 
but remember at the same time, it was that 
idolatry might be stamped out, and a na- 
tion kept distinct for God's own purpose, 
his chosen people. 

"And as the breaking of the Sabbath 
was punished with death among the Jews, 
so respect for the Sabbath was established 
and this great bulwark of a nation's pros- 
perity was maintained by them alone. In 
the instance we are considering, respect 
for old age w T as impressed upon the readers 
of the Bible for all time. It was like some 
other swift and dire retributions spoken of 
in Holy Writ, things ' which whosoever 
heareth his ears shall tingle.' " 

After passing over a barren, rocky hill, 

9 6 



IRortbwarD 



they entered the vineyards and orchards of 
the land of Ephraim, which are as fertile 
as picturesque. As they neared Shiloh a 
large heap of ruins appeared, like a sin- 
gularly graphic fulfillment of the terrible 
prophecy of Jeremiah. 

" Do you remember that it was here that 
Joshua divided the land among the tribes?" 
asked Doctor Allen; " and here the taber- 
nacle was reared." 

" Was this not the home of the old 
priest Eli and the boy Samuel," asked 
Phil, ' ' as recorded in the first book of 
Samuel?" 

The party commented on the fields 
abounding in heavy-headed grain, and the 
fig and olive groves stretching for miles 
before them. 

' ' What mountains are those looming up 
before us, uncle?" said Katharine. 

"That is Mount Ebal on the right, and 
Mount Gerizim on the left, the mountains 
of blessing and cursing. Here we pass 
the line that separates Judea from Sa- 
maria." 

"Travelers often wish for some well 

g 97 



Ulncle mien'e iPartE tn Palestine 



authenticated place which they may be 
sure Christ blessed by his presence," said 
the reverential and intelligent guide, as 
they approached Jacob's well; " there can 
be no doubt but that this is the scene of 
his conversation with the woman of Sa- 
maria, when he taught her of the living 
water.' ' 

They quickened their steps in approach- 
ing this spot so well authenticated, and 
looked with great interest upon the spot 
where doubtless the Saviour sat. 

Over to the right is the parcel of ground 
that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. The 
well is not a spring of water bubbling up 
from the earth, nor is it reached by an ex- 
cavation ; but is a shaft cut in the living 



IRottbwatfc 



rock, about nine feet in diameter, and not 
more than seventy feet deep. The mouth 
is funnel-shaped, and around it is the rub- 
bish of a church building that was once 
erected over it. 

Passing between the mountains of Geri- 
zim, where blessings were pronounced over 
the people, and Ebal, where curses were 
poured out upon them, they encamped for 
the night at ancient Shechem. 

" Can it be that we are looking upon the 
site of that place so full of memories of the 
boy Joseph ? ' ' said Phil . ' ' It is my favor- 
ite Bible story, and I think there are few 
characters in all history so fine as that of 
Joseph. I cannot bear to think of the dis- 
tress of the poor fellow when he was 
seized by his brothers and sold to the 
Ishmaelites, and his agony as he thought 
of his poor father, who had loved him so 
tenderly, must have been heartrending.' ' 

"His bones were brought from Egypt 
and buried here," added the guide. 

"Cannot you picture to yourself the 
sight when all Israel was assembled upon 
these plains, in the time of Joshua? " said 
99 



Ulncle mien's lpart£ in lpaleetine 



Phil. "Was this not the seat of govern- 
ment after Solomon's death and in the 
reign of Jeroboam ?" turning to Doctor 
Allen. 

* * Yes ; and after the return from captiv- 
ity it became the center of Samaritan wor- 
ship." 

"How often in the Saviour's ministry 
important messages and truths were en- 
trusted and imparted to women," said 
Cousin Serena. " Think of the good this 
one woman was instrumental in accomplish- 
ing, for here ' many believed on him.' 99 

' ' There has always been bitter animosity 
between the Jews and Samaritans,' ' con- 
tinued Doctor Allen, " and on both sides 
it became a sin to extend the rites of hos- 
pitality. There is only a small number 
left who follow their old customs exclu- 
sively, and inhabit what is known as the 
Samaritan quarter of the city. They be- 
lieve in one God, the resurrection of the 
body, the advent of the Messiah, the Mo- 
saic system of feasts, and they acknowledge 
the authority of only the Pentateuch in the 

Old Testament writings." 

ioo 



IRortbwarD 



"I wish we could see that old Samari- 
tan Codex of the Pentateuch which, it is 
said, was written by a grandson of Aaron," 
said Phil. ' 6 Isn't it in the old synagogue?" 

" Yes," said the guide; " but it is cer- 
tainly not older than the Christian era, and 
perhaps not so old by many centuries." 

The view from the summit of Mt. 
Gerizim is exquisite. In the far west are 
the waters of the Mediterranean; in the 
north, the snowy top of Hermon, partly 
intercepted by Mt. Ebal; below, to the 
east, is the fertile plain that was the arena 
of so many important events in sacred his- 
tory, and beyond are the mountains of 
Gilead. 

They were passing through the beautiful 
vale of Shechem, now called Nablous, 
with Ebal on the right and Gerizim on the 
left, and recalled that along this very way 
Abraham, Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Joseph, 
Joshua, and Jesus came. 

"Did you ever see greater variety of 
vegetation?" asked Katharine, whose 
appreciation of the beautiful was as keen 
as her sense of the ludicrous. 



TUncle mien's lpart£ in Palestine 



" And look at the plowmen over in that 
field/ ' said Phil. " I can count thirty- 
two/ 9 

" How the burden of prophecy, as given 
in Hosea 13 : 16, comes to mind," said 
Uncle Allen, as they entered the city of 
Samaria. 

' ' And the story of the siege as given in 
2 Kings 6 and 7," added Cousin Serena. 
' ' Think of this pile of ruins being all that 
is left of this once famous place! 99 

"And this is the plain of Esdraelon. 
How romantic \" said Katharine, as her 
eye took in the broad stretch, having an 
average width of ten or twelve miles, ex- 
tending from the Mediterranean on the west 
across Central Palestine to the river Jordan 
on the east. 4 4 How often these lovely 
meadows, which now are gay with wild 
flowers and ripening grain, have been the 
scene of plunder and war ! 99 

' ' Observe," said Doctor Allen, "that 
the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim are 
within two hundred paces of each other, 
separated by a deep valley ; and both have 
the same general appearance, being semi- 



Hlortbwarfc 



circular, about half a league long, and on 
the sides nearest Shechem, quite perpen- 
dicular. On these mounts God made his 
solemn ratification of his covenant with his 
ancient people after they had passed over 
the Jordan. Six tribes were placed in 
Gerizim, and six in Ebal, the former to 
pronounce blessings on those who should 
faithfully keep the divine law, and the 
latter to pronounce curses on those who 
should violate it, and from these facts the 
mountains were called the 1 Mount of Bless- 
ing ' and the ' Mount of Cursing/ " 

"But what was the cause of the hatred 
between the Jews and the Samaritans? 
Was it not about the temple service?" 
asked Cousin Serena. 

"Yes," said Doctor Allen. "After 

the Jews possessed Canaan, they built an 

altar and celebrated a feast on Ebal ; but 

the Samaritans contending that this should 

have been done on Gerizim, built a temple 

here, the ruins of which may still be seen, 

and this temple the Samaritans regarded 

as being as holy as the Jews regarded the 

temple at Jerusalem. The Samaritans in- 
103 



TUncle mien's ©arts in Palestine 



sist that Gerizim was the mountain on 
which Abraham was told to offer up Isaac, 
and during the week in which we were 
there, their annual sacrifice was held on its 
summit. According to best authorities, 
the entire Hebrew population of Samaria 
was carried away, and the Samaritans are 
of heathen origin.' ' 

"Didn't the Jews offend the Samaritans 
by refusing to let them help rebuild the 
temple ?" asked Cousin Serena. 

"Yes," replied Doctor Allen; "and 
from that time (635 b. c.) dates the hos- 
tility between the Jew and the Samaritan. 
In the fifth century b. C, the Persian gov- 
ernor, Sanballat, erected for the Samaritans 
a temple on Mount Gerizim, and gave 
them an independent high-priesthood, 
which position was first filled by his son- 
in-law Manasses, son of the Jewish high 
priest.' ' 

"Well, how are the Jews and the Sa- 
maritans alike? They both believe in the 
Bible, do they not?" 

"Oh, yes," said the guide. " They ac- 
cept the Pentateuch, they keep the Sab- 
104 



IRortbwarD 



bath, and observe many other tenets of the 
Mosaic law; they look for the Messiah, 
believe in spirits and angels, in the immor- 
tality of the soul, and in the resurrection/ ' 

"How far does the city date back?" 
asked Phil. 

"To 900 b. c, when King Omri pur- 
chased it for two talents of silver." 

"I always think of Eiisha in connection 
with Samaria," said Katharine, "and of 
the lepers who, visiting the camp of the 
besiegers, found they had fled, leaving such 
rich spoils of war behind them." 

" Truly, the valleys and hills before us 
witnessed many of the heroic events of 
Bible history," said Doctor Allen, "and 
the same charming landscape that spreads 
before our eyes, was looked upon by Jesus 
and his disciples." 

"This plain of Esdraelon," said Doctor 
Allen, as they entered it, "was the battle- 
field where some of the most brilliant vic- 
tories were won by the Israelites and where 
also two of the saddest defeats of the Jew- 
ish nation, as commemorated in 1 Sam. 31 
and 2 Chron. 35 : 22-25, were endured at 
105 



TUncle mien's ©arts in Palestine 



Gilboa and Megiddo. You remember that 
on this plain < the Lord delivered Sisera into 
the hand of Barak.' Barak and Deborah, 
with their small number of heroic men, 
were gathered on the summit of Tabor, 
and the host of Sisera, with its nine hundred 
iron chariots, took up its position on the 
level plain of Megiddo. From Mount 
Tabor the prophetess gave the signal of 
the battle, when Barak was to rush upon 
the enemy in the plain below ; but at the 
critical moment, a tremendous storm of 
sleet and rain burst upon Esdraelon, beat- 
ing in the face of the advancing Canaan- 
ites, 'the stars in their courses fought 
against Sisera,' and in the midst of the 
confusion, when the strength of the 
Canaanites 'was trodden down,' the cap- 
tain sprang from his war chariot and fled 
from the battlefield on foot." 

" Deborah commands my admiration/ ' 
said Cousin Serena, who found in this 
strong, self-reliant character the comple- 
ment to her own gentle, dependent nature. 
" I can see her tall, commanding figure as 

she gives that signal for the battle and 

106 



iRottbwaro 



inspires Barak with the courage he lacked 
in her absence to carry on the warfare." 

"Is not this plain the scene of one of 
Gideon's victories ?" asked Phil of the 
guide. 

" Yes; the battle of Jezreel was gained 
here by the three hundred chosen men, 
and also the battle of Bethabara, when 
Gideon burst upon the host of Zebah and 
Zalmunna, killing the two chiefs and des- 
troying the tower of Peniel. But Israel 
was not always victorious upon the spot of 
the memorable victory that we have just 
spoken of. Saul was ignobly defeated by 
the Philistines. The Philistines drove the 
Israelites up the slopes of Gilboa ; and we 
read that it was on Mt. Gilboa that the 
dead bodies of Saul and his three sons 
were found by the enemy the day after the 
battle." 

" How beautifully David always refers 

to Saul and Jonathan in his laments over 

their deaths," said Cousin Serena; and 

she repeated in her musical voice, " ' The 

beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high 

places ; how are the mighty fallen ! . . . 
107 



TUncle mien's lpart£ in lpaleettne 



Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no 
dew, neither let there be rain upon you, 
nor fields of offerings : for there the shield 
of the mighty is vilely cast away, the 
shield of Saul, as though he had not been 
anointed with oil. Jonathan, thou wast 
slain in thine high places/ " 

In the last days of the Jewish mon- 
archy the battle of Megiddo occurred just 
here, and King Josiah was killed by 
Egyptian archers. 

' * What domelike mountain is that which 
rises from the plain and stands completely 
isolated from the surrounding country ?" 
asked Phil of the guide. 

"That is Mt. Tabor, and you will ob- 
serve that when viewed from the northwest 
it looks like a great dome, but from the 
East presents the appearance of a long 



IRortbwarD 



arched mound. The tradition is that this 
is the mount of the Transfiguration.' ' 

"Is it, indeed ?" exclaimed Cousin 
Serena and Katharine in a breath. 

"Yes; but," Doctor Allen hastened to 
say, "the weight of argument goes to 
show it took place far away from here." 

"Isn't that Mt. Carmel?" pointing to 
a mountain ridge bounding the whole south- 
western corner of the great plain." 

"Yes," said the guide. "It is eigh- 
teen miles in length and, because of its 
rocky dells and thick jungles, has been se- 
lected in later legends as the ' scene of 
Cain's death, who there went through the 
briars and bushes as a wild beast.' In 
the large caves which are found under the 
western cliffs Elijah and the persecuted 
prophets may have found security." 

" One of the grandest sermons I ever 
heard was one about the prophet under the 
juniper tree, when he had the blues so 
dreadfully," said Katharine. " I wonder 
if it was on that ridge ? ' ' 

"Oh, no, that was in Judea; but I 

have read in Herodotus that on its slope, 
109 



Ulncle Bllen's ffmrtE in ipalesttne 



or at its foot," said Phil, " we have reason 
to believe that Cambyses died on his re- 
turn from Egypt to Persia, thus fulfilling 
prophecy. And it is thought that along 
the rocky paths of Carmel, Pythagoras 
descended to embark in the Egyptian 
ships which he saw sailing on the sea be- 
neath him." 

The fourth day out from Jerusalem on 
their northward journey the party camped 
on the plain of Esdraelon, with the moun- 
tains of Gilboa on the right. How asso- 
ciations crowded upon them as the follow- 
ing day they entered the valley of Jezreel ! 
This is where Ahab coveted the vineyard 
of Naboth; in this neighborhood the 
painted Jezebel carried on her wicked 
machinations and the prophet Elijah came 
down upon her with messages of wrath. 
It was along this way that Jehu came 
" driving furiously* ' and put Jehoram to 
death ; and it was in this valley that Gid- 
eon gained his famous victory over the 
Midianites. 

"Here," said the guide, "is where 
Saul's camp was pitched while the Philis- 



HlortbwarD 



tines were encamped over there at Shu- 
nem." 

" And was not that the time when he 
was frightened and went under cover by 
darkness to visit the witch of Endor?" 
asked Phil. 

" I remember seeing when I was a child 
a dreadful picture of Saul calling up the 
spirit of Samuel/' said Katharine. "It 
used to scare me so in the dark." 

In the course of a two hours' ride they 
passed Gideon's fountain, where his three 
hundred men lapped water, putting the 
hand to the mouth ; then to Shunem, where 
the woman kept the prophet's chamber for 
the man of God and where he raised her 
son from the dead. Beyond lies the village 
of Nain, where Christ raised from the 
dead the young man, "the only son of 
his mother, and she a widow." 

"A short ride will bring us to the foot 

of Mt. Tabor," said the guide, " which is 

two thousand and seventeen feet in height, 

and from the top the eye can range from 

the vicinity of Dan on the north to Beer- 

sheba on the south." 

in 



Ulncle mien 9 5 ff>art£ in fialestlne 



Standing almost alone in the plain, Mt. 
Tabor presents a most striking appearance. 
It is somewhat in the shape of a sugar- 
loaf, flattened at the top. On the south- 
ern side it is rough and rugged, with noth- 
ing but barren limestone visible ; north- 
ward it is covered with thick foliage, oak, 
terebinth, and syringa, ornamenting it from 
base to summit ; elsewhere it presents the 
appearance of a series of well-planted ter- 
races. The summit of the mountain is a 
broad plateau covered with the ruins of 
buildings of all ages. There are the thick 
beveled stones of a wall, very ancient un- 
doubtedly, and there are the remains of 
towers, houses, cisterns, and vaults, prob- 
ably belonging to the age of the Crusaders. 



112 



CHAPTER VII 



THE HOMES OF JESUS 

E are nearing Nazareth now," 
said the guide, as they ap- 
proached the high hill on 
which the town stands ; and 
he pointed out a sharp, precipitous spur 
called the " Mount of Precipitation," which 
name arose from the worthless tradition 
that it was from here that the people of 
Nazareth sought to cast the Saviour down 
headlong. It is about two miles from the 
town and is about as improbable a site as 
could have been selected. 

" These Syrian horses certainly are sure- 
footed," said Katharine, as they climbed 
a sharp ascent through glens and gullies 
before entering Nazareth, where the Christ 
spent thirty years of his life. 

The town as seen from the enclosing hill 
is very picturesque, backed by high cliffs 

H 113 





and approached from under the shade of 
spreading oaks, with substantial looking 
houses of stone, graceful minarets, and 
the massive walls of a large church and 
monastery, which are here and there over- 
topped by the tall, spiral forms of the 
dark-green cypress trees. 

"Nazareth," said Doctor Allen, "was 
the residence of Joseph and Mary, the 
scene of the annunciation, the place whence 
Joseph went to Bethlehem 'to be taxed 
with Mary his espoused wife,' and the 
home of the Lord until he entered upon 
his public ministry/' 

' ' I have often thought how the loving 
heart of Jesus must have been wounded 
when his countrymen attempted to cast 
him over the precipice/ ' said Cousin Se- 
rena. "I am really sorry that nothing 
positive can be asserted about the locality 
of the places associated with his life in 
Nazareth." 

114 



Zhc IHomes of Jeeus 



As the company passed along the nar- 
row streets, they visited with interest a 
carpenter's shop; and as it is quite certain 
that for centuries and centuries such work- 
men have been doing their work in the 
same way, they imagined that the man and 
boy whom they watched were engaged in 
just the way that Joseph and the boy Jesus 
were nearly nineteen hundred years ago. 

A pleasant hour was spent by the young 
folk of the party at the "Fountain of the 
Virgin/' a plentiful spring of water issuing 
from three mouths. The village women in 
their white robes and bright head-dresses 
assemble and gracefully bear away their 
well-filled pitchers on their heads. As the 
same fountain has been in use ever since 
the town was inhabited, doubtless she who 
was "blessed among women" would often 
go there, carrying the infant Saviour in just 
the same fashion as the young mother now 
goes to the sparkling stream with her 
pitcher poised on her head and her babe 
in her arm. 

"I see by the guide book," said Phil, 
"that Napoleon supped here on the night 
1 1 5 



IHncle mien's parts tn Palestine 



of the battle of Tabor, and that a plot was 
laid by Pasha Jezzar to murder all the 
Christians in his dominions as soon as the 
French had evacuated. Sir Sidney Smith, 
the English admiral, thwarted his blood- 
thirsty scheme." 

Soon they were off to the sea of Galilee, 
and blessed with health and happiness, 
were prepared to enjoy keenly every inci- 
dent and association suggested by the 
places intervening. 

The village of Cana was soon reached, 
where the first miracle by Christ was per- 
formed, when ' 'the conscious water saw 
its Lord and blushed." 

"Where too he healed the nobleman's 
son, who lay sick at Capernaum," said 
Cousin Serena. 

"And where Nathanael, that disciple 
in whom there was no guile, was born," 
added Doctor Allen. 

' ' What a curiously shaped hill ! ' ' ex- 
claimed Katharine, as, resuming the jour- 
ney, there rose on their left a hill bearing 

on its summit two peaks or horns, from 
116 



Gbe Monies of 5eeus 



which it derives its name of the " Horns 
of Hattin." 

"This is known as the * Mount of Beati- 
tudes/ " said the guide, ' ' where it is sup- 
posed that our Lord preached the Sermon 
on the Mount. Another tradition makes 
this also to be the scene of the feeding of 
the five thousand, as recorded in the four- 
teenth chapter of Matthew." 

" The plain before us was the last bat- 
tlefield of the Crusaders," remarked Doctor 
Allen. " It was in July, 1189, that Sala- 
din defeated them. As faithfully chron- 
icled by Michaud, we read that at nightfall 
the Crusaders gathered together by the 
Horns of Hattin under Guy of Lusignan, 
with Raynald of Chatillon, the grand mas- 
ter of the Knights Templar, and the bishop 
of Lydda, bearing the holy cross. But a 
great triumph awaited the Moslem, and the 
power of the Crusaders was broken forever 
in the Holy Land. King Guy was taken 
prisoner; Chatillon, whom Saladin hated 
with a peculiar hatred, was killed; and all 
the army of noble knights were slain or 

taken prisoners. The more one sees of the 
117 



Ulncle mien's ©arts tn ©alesttne 



Moslem rule, the stronger is his wish that 
ere long some power may rise and sweep 
from this land of blessed memory a nation 
whose barbarous cruelty is only stimulated 
by its religious beliefs." 

It was with many exclamations of de- 
light that the tourists gazed upon the mag- 
nificent view of the sea of Galilee, which 
can be obtained several miles away from 
its waters. 

" Do you observe," asked Doctor Allen, 
' ' how the entire lake from Tiberias to Ca- 
pernaum is distinctly seen lying in a basin 
more than a thousand feet below those 
steeply sloping hills?" 

" How irregular and bare and barren the 
hills are across the lake, but yet how rich 
and varied in tone and tint," said Cousin 
Serena. 

' ' And see, ' ' said Katharine, ' * how snow- 
capped Hermon stands out against the clear 
blue sky in its purity." 

* ' The natural beauty is only excelled by 
the divine associations," observed Uncle 
Allen. 

" I love to think that Capernaum re- 
118 



Gbe Homes of Jesus 



ceived the Lord when he was cast out of 
Nazareth," said Cousin Serena, as her 
eye sought the site of the little city on the 
lake. " How often he walked along these 
shores and how much of his public ministry 
was spent here ! " 

" Yes," said Doctor Allen, "to record 
the mighty works performed within sight 
of these blue waters, would be to transcribe 
a very large part of the four Gospels." 

"Let us see how many incidents we can 
recall that are associated with these blue 
waters," said Katharine, when they seated 
themselves upon the shore and prepared to 
enjoy the lovely scene about them. " Here 
he called Peter, James, and John, and 
preached to the people on the shore from 
Simon's boat," she began. "His pulpit 
a boat here, as it was a mountain once be- 
fore." 

"Here it was," began Cousin Serena, 

"that he gave those striking parables of 

the sower, the wheat and the tares, the 

grain of mustard seed, the leaven, and the 

net cast into the sea. It was on these 

waters that a great tempest arose, when he 
119 



Ulncle Bllen's H>art£ in ipaleetine 



rebuked the wind and the sea, and there 
was a great calm." 

" In these blue waters the swine were 
drowned, running down that hill yonder/' 
said Phil. 

" Near here/' said Doctor Allen, " he 
fed the five thousand and afterward walked 
on the crystal pavement of the sea toward 
his disciples rowing in the storm/ ' 

"From these waters," said Phil, "he 
caused to be caught the fish in whose mouth 
was found the piece of money with which 
he paid tribute." 

" And here, after his resurrection, in the 
gray dawn of the morning, he suddenly ap- 
peared to his disciples," softly said Cousin 
Serena. 

* ' After they had toiled all night and 
caught nothing, what a meeting that must 
have been for Peter," said Doctor Allen, 
" that impulsive disciple who, three times 
warned, had thrice denied his Lord, and 
here by three-fold confession was restored 
and reinstated in the apostolic office." 

" I have often thought," said Cousin 
Serena with a rapt expression, " that that 



XLhc 1Hotne5 of Seeus 



message sent Peter by his risen Lord must 
have, almost broken his heart : ' Go tell 
my disciples and Peter, that I go before 
them into Galilee/ just as though he 
feared that the penitent Peter might imag- 
ine there was no longer a place for him 
beside the Lord whom he had deserted, so 
he called him by name." 

" I am glad we are going to camp on 
the site of Capernaum," said Phil, as 
preparations were being made for a halt. 
Doctor Allen sat in his tent door and al- 
lowed his eyes to wander at will on the 
views spread out before them. Katharine 
stole gently to his side and waited for him 
to break the silence, which she felt he was 
enjoying as he gazed upon these sacred 
sites. This impetuous girl had grown 
gentler and more reverent from being as- 
sociated so constantly with scenes of a 
hallowed nature. As her uncle looked up 
from his reveries and caught a wistful ex- 
pression upon her face, he called her 
nearer to him and showed her the points of 
interest that were engrossing his thoughts 
when she came out. 



Ulncle mien's ©art£ in ipaleetine 



' ' Everywhere you see the snowfields of 
Henrion," he said, pointing past the hills 
receding from the lake. "See these ex- 
quisite little bays on the north that break 
the shore line, especially at that plain, 
where the. beaches, pearly white with 
myriads of minute shells, are on one side 
bathed by the clear waters of the lake, and 
on the other shut in by a fringe of olean- 
ders, rich in the spring of the year with 
their blossoms, red and bright. The lake 
is pear-shaped, the broad end being toward 
the north/' 

" How wide is it, uncle? 99 

' ' The greatest width is six and three- 
quarter miles and the extreme length is 
twelve and a quarter miles. The Jordan 
colors the lake for a mile from its mouth 
and passes out pure and clean at the south. 
That plain to the northwest is known as 
Gennesaret. Where the hills slightly retreat 
from the lake on the west is the town of 
Tiberias. The lake is between six hundred 
and seven hundred feet below the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. Did you know that, Phil?" 
as the young man came toward them. 

122 



Cbe Momes of Jesus 



' 'Yes, sir, and I learn from the guide 
that it is still subject to sudden and violent 
storms, as in the time of Christ and his dis- 
ciples. I learned also that in the lake are 
a number of warm springs, and violent 
earthquakes are not infrequent, as in 1837, 
when half of the inhabitants of Tiberias 
perished." 

"Let me read you some impressive 
words," said Doctor Allen, taking up his 
pocket Bible, which he always carried 
about with him, "the most valuable of 
guide books," he called it. " Just as we 
sit here in sight of the mounds of rubbish, 
tangles of thistles, and heaps of ruins that 
mark the ancient cities of Capernaum, 
Chorazin, and Bethsaida, do you recall 
the pathetic words of our Lord ? ' Then 
began he to upbraid the cities wherein 
most of his mighty works were done, be- 
cause they repented not : Woe unto thee, 
Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for 
if the mighty works, which were done in 
you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, 
they would have repented long ago in sack- 
cloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it 
123 



TUncle mien's 11>art£ in Palestine 



shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon 
at the day of judgment, than for you. 
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted 
unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell : 
for if the mighty works, which were done 
in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would 
have remained until this day. But I say 
unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for 
the land of Sodom in the day of judg- 
ment, than for thee/ Let us get a boat 
now and spend some time on the lake." 

So Katharine ran to summon Cousin 
Serena, who was writing up her journal, 
while Doctor Allen and Philip secured the 
boat and four boatmen for the expedition. 

During the afternoon a whistling wind 
dotted the water with whitecaps ; but as 
the sun was setting behind the crimson 
curtains of the western sky, and as the 
full moon calmly looked upon the depths 
of the lake, a voice seemed to say, " Peace, 
be still," for suddenly there was a great 
calm. 

" I can see the white houses of Tiberias 
quite distinctly in the moonlight,' ' said 
Cousin Serena. 

124 



Gbe Monies ot Jesus 



" It seems to me that the ruins of the 
cursed cities look like black heaps on the 
shore," remarked Phil, pointing toward 
their reputed sites. 

The hill platforms upon which the mul- 
titudes were miraculously fed and taught 
were outlined in the distance. The mighty 
hills on the eastern shore stood like giant 
sentinels against the sky, and the placid 
moon-kissed Galilee seemed a fit pavement 
for the feet of the Prince of Peace. 

That boat ride afforded a topic of con- 
versation for our travelers many a time on 
their return to the home land. Far into 
the night they passed into Jordan at the 
extreme northern point of the lake, crossed 
to the eastern side, and after quite a thrill- 
ing experience with a band of Bedouin 
robbers, which somewhat disturbed the 
placidity of the occasion, they turned their 
boat toward the tents on the western shore, 
some miles away. 

A level beach runs almost around the 
lake and is strewn with sparkling black and 
white stones, which are peculiar to the dis- 
trict, and the central and northern shore 

125 



lilncle Bllen'6 TParti2 in Ipalesttne 



is formed of smooth sand, or of minute 
shells and pebbles. A greater part of the 
lake shore is fringed with shrubs, bright- 
ened here and there with the pink color of 
the oleander, which recalls the lines in 
Keble's " Christian Year " : 

All through the summer night, 
Those blossoms red and bright, 
Spread their soft breasts. 



126 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE GREAT MOUNTAINS 




T an early hour on a bright 

April morning, the tourists 

turned from the quiet basin 

of the sea of Galilee, and 

were soon passing over the green hills 

which skirt imposing heights. 

" Here," said Doctor Allen, " occurred 

some of the thrilling scenes recorded in 

Joshua and Judges." 

" Tell us about them," said Katharine. 

' 6 Along these shores Joshua perhaps 

waged his third and last conflict with the 

Canaanites, after the victories at Ai and 

Beth-horon had secured for him the southern 

and central portions of Palestine. In the 

early morning by a sudden descent, as the 

enemy were encamped near the lake, Joshua 

and his men of war fell suddenly upon 

them ; and it is written that * The Lord 
127 



Ulncle mien's ©arts tn Palestine 



delivered them into the hands of Israel, 
who smote them and chased them (west- 
ward) unto great Zidon . . . and unto the 
valley of Mizpeh eastward.' " 

" Is not this lake of Merom the one 
from which the Jordan flows in its southern 
course? and do the streams unite in a dis- 
tinct river before entering it? " asked Philip 
of the guide. 

' 'Yes, for some distance. Notice the 
difference in the vegetation, as you pass 
through this part of Palestine. Where you 
bathed in the Jordan in the neighborhood 
of Jericho, its waters flowed through 
thickets of willows and tamarisks ; but 
here the river bank is covered by syca- 
mores and oleanders ; and the mass of 
smaller vegetation indicates that we are 
approaching the water-shed of Palestine. 

" North of Merom many rills wind their 
way through the reedy jungles, and the 
fertile fields of millet and of corn. Crystal 
springs pour forth abundant streams in the 
valley from the western hills ; the rushing 
torrent of the Hasbeya descends through 

a deep gorge of basalt from far up in the 

128 



Zhc (Breat {mountains 



heights of the Anti-Libanus ; and from 
the snow fields of Hermon, countless rills 
trickle their way down the slopes to swell 
the bosom of the most illustrious of 
rivers . 1 ' 

" How often have we seen the snow-clad 
range of Hermon \" said Cousin Serena, 
pointing northward. " And beyond, isn't 
that the Lebanon range that shuts out the 
horizon? " 



Ulncle Bllen'6 lparts in ipaleatine 



' ' Look at those tents ! ' ' exclaimed 
Katharine, gazing out on the far-stretching 
plain. 4 'They must be Bedouin encamp- 
ments. And see the cattle grazing in 
the meadows. Isn't it a pretty pastoral 
scene? 99 

"How long is Merom, the uppermost 
lake of the Jordan? 99 asked Phil, as he 
noticed it in the center of the plain, sur- 
rounded by thick jungles of reed. 

' * About seven miles , ' ' answered the 
dragoman; " and those jungles abound in 
wild fowl." 

" Do you see a hill rising abruptly from 
the plain?" asked Doctor Allen of Cousin 
Serena, who was looking intently at the 
beautiful scene spread out before her. 
' ' Upon the upper level of that hill we find 
the ruins of an ancient city, which is iden- 
tified as the town and citadel of Dan, the 
northern frontier of the Holy Land." 

Riding on at least four miles farther in the 
bosom of Hermon they reached the eastern 
source of the Jordan. Their pathway wound 
over a carpet of turf and through the great- 
est variety of foliage. 

130 



Gbe (Bueat ^mountains 



ts Is that the noise of the water?" asked 
Doctor Allen of the guide, as they sud- 
denly turned about one of the spurs of the 
mountain. 

' ' Yes / ' replied the guide ; ' ' and on the 
hillside before you are the ruins of the an- 
cient city of Caesarea-Philippi." 

Underneath the cliffs which overhang 
the town many rivulets spring forth, and 
after running into a beautiful basin, gush 
out into a running stream. 

' ' Think of a city associated with the wor- 
ship of the heathen Pan, being situated on 
the river Jordan," remarked Phil, as the 
guide pointed out the site of the ancient 
Paneas, now known as Banias. 

"At this very place Christ spent some 
time," said Doctor Allen, " when he could 
no more walk in Judea, because the Jews 
sought to kill him." 

"You remember how Milton refers to 
Christ as ' Great Pan ' in one of his poems ; 
that puzzled me for some time," said 
Katharine. 

' ' Here it was/ ' said Doctor Allen, ' ' that 
the famous confession of Peter was made ; 
131 



tUncle Mllen'e parts in ifraleetine 



here perhaps, in sight of the snow-clothed 
peak of Hermon, the light of Christ's 
transfiguration brightened his countenance 
and whitened his garments ; and from these 
remote heights at the source of that river in 
whose waters he was baptized three short 
years before, he set his face for the last 
time 'to go up to Jerusalem/ to complete 
his redemptive work for man." 

During a month this party rode on horse- 
back more than four hundred miles through 
Palestine and Syria on the way to Asia 
Minor. 

The ladies showed great powers of en- 
durance, as well as the greatest appreciation 
of the sacred and interesting scenes through 
which they passed. But a really thrilling 
experience was in store for them, one which 
at the time they would willingly have 
omitted, but which served afterward to add 
a glow of romance to their tales of travel 
that could not have been spared. 

On this tour, by the aid of an excellent 

dragoman, they were enabled not only to 

visit the principal cities and towns of these 

historically interesting countries, but also to 
132 



Gbe (3reat flHountatne 



study the habits and customs of the wild 
Bedouin tribes, who lead wandering lives in 
the valleys and along the mountain slopes. 

On the western side of the Jordan River 
there are many of these roving bodies of 
men, women, and children, divided into 
different family tribes ; but on the eastern 
side of the river, there are only a few tribes, 
much larger than the others and very much 
wilder. Each tribe has a sheik or prince, 
who is final authority on all questions, and 
often has power of life or death. This 
office is hereditary as a rule. When an 
election is necessary, it is done by vocal 
declaration, must be unanimous, and is en- 
dorsed by the government at Constantinople. 

" How do they escape military duty under 
the government ? " asked Phil of their in- 
telligent and efficient guide. 

"The head of each tribe," said he, "is 
legally required to pay to the Sultan one 
Turkish pound (nearly five dollars) for 
each man who is able to go to war ; which 
amount, paid yearly, exempts them from 
military duty under the government. Cer- 
tain districts of country are allowed these 
i33 



TUncle mien's parts in Palestine 



tribes, where their tents and herds are 
usually found ; but frequently they roam in 
other parts of the land, carrying on inde- 
pendent raids until they are driven into their 
own region by Turkish guns. 

"The Bedouins are born robbers, and it 
is always unsafe for any one to pass through 
their country unguarded. A few months 
ago a party was visiting the Jordan and the 
Dead Sea with the usual guard ; but four 
of the number became separated from the 
rest, and in less than two hours they were 
seized and robbed of their horses, money, 
and clothing. A most pitiable set they 
were, I am told, when they reached their 
tents after nightfall. ,, 

"That does not make one feel very com- 
fortable/ ' laughed Katharine; and Cousin 
Serena gave a little anxious glance around 
as if she thought one of these roving Arab 
bands might make a descent upon their 
party. 

"Uncle Allen," said Katharine, as she 
urged her horse to his side, "please tell us 
your experience with the Bedouins when 
you were in Palestine some years ago." 
134 



Zbc Great ^mountains 



' * No doubt it would be very interesting, 9 9 
said the guide; and they all drew closer 
together as Doctor Allen agreed to their 
request. 

"I left Nablous on a tour among the 
mountains, and this account of a personal 
episode with the Bedouins illustrates their 
exceeding kind-heartedness after they have 
robbed you of everything they can lay their 
hands on. I had not gone many miles when 
I was surrounded by a score of these men 
who, lifting me off my beast, stripped me 
of my clothing, and while I sat on a cool 
rock near by and watched the performance, 
examined carefully all the garments, ripping 
open the linings of my coat, and after they 
had taken everything, even my pocket 
knife, tossed me my clothing, and politely 
informed me that I could go on my way. 

"As it was now late in the evening I told 
them that I could not continue on my jour- 
ney after dark without losing my way, and 
requested that they take care of me until 
the next morning. They immediately and 
gladly agreed to do this, helped me on my 
donkey, led the way through the valley to 
*3S 



Tllncle mien's ff>art£ in ©alesttne 



the place of their encampment, cooked food 
for me, entertained me most attentively 
over night, and started me on my way next 
day with everything I had when I met them, 
except my money and whatever there was 
in my traveling bag that they could possi- 
bly use." 

" How do they live ? and could you eat 
anything they gave you ? ' ' asked Cousin 
Serena. 

6 ' Yes, ' ' said the doctor ; ' ' but I did not 
enjoy it. Their food consists chiefly of 
bread made into thin wafers, and looking 
very much like sheets of sandpaper, butter 
made from the milk of the goat and the 
buffalo cow, and fish which abound in all 
the streams. It is impossible to picture 
perfectly their mode of living. Each family 
in the tribe occupies a small tent of one 
room, which is the sleeping, cooking, and 
working apartment. The floor is the bare 
ground, which in a few cases may be cov- 
ered by bits of dirty goat's-hair cloth. The 
eating is done in front of the tents, where 
the family sit in a semi-circle, using their 

palms as plates, and their fingers as forks. 

136 



A peculiar and distasteful but- 
ter, churned from the milk cf 
the goat and buffalo cow, is 
the chief means of support. 
As a rule they reside in one locality not 
more than two months. They claim a di- 
rect descent from Abraham, who was, they 
insist, a wealthy sheik of a large tribe. 1 9 

' * I declare ! all these tales make me feel 
creepy, 99 said Katharine, turning her horse 
close to her uncle's and laying her hand on 
the pommel of his saddle, to be as near 
him as possible. 

Just then a noise was heard in the hills 
near by, and on turning they found they 
were surrounded by forty or fifty Bedouins, 
headed by the sheik. Of course there was 
great terror among the group for a while, 
and though the ladies neither shrieked nor 
fainted, their faces were blanched with fear. 

For a moment their American dragoman 
was stricken with fear ; but quickly a for- 
tunate thought occurred to him. It is the 
custom among certain wild tribes to be- 
friend any one in trouble if he reaches the 
sheik and seizing his belt exclaims: "I 
i37 



TUncle Bllen'0 fl>art£ In ipaleettne 



am your guest." While demands were 
being made on the guide and those under 
his care, and the robbers were in the act of 
helping themselves, he rushed forward and 
taking a strong grip upon the belt of the 
sheik, exclaimed in Arabic : 

" These are all your guests." 

This acted like magic. The robbery 
was ordered off ; the sheik drew his sword 
and, in a most pompous manner, announced 
to his men that the party was under his 
protection and guidance; and leading the 
way, he guided them for hours through the 
desert. 

"Well, if it had not been for this little 
episode our trip would have been bare 
of anything like adventure," said Phil 
afterward as Katharine was dilating on her 
alarm during the scene just described. 

"I would willingly have escaped it," 
said Cousin Serena, "though I think we 
should only be grateful that we were not 
taken prisoners and treated as those trav- 
elers were of whom the guide was telling 
us this morning, or even as Uncle Allen 
fared in his experience with them." 
138 



Gbe <3reat flQcuntatne 



" This will be something to tell when we 
get home," said Katharine. 

6 ' Were you near enough to see the ex- 
pression on the faces of those fellows when 
their chief agreed to befriend us instead of 
rifling us?" asked Phil. "They were 
sorry enough to give up their booty, I 
knew by their looks." 

"The sheik had really a very fine face," 
said Katharine, " and reminded me of those 
figures in the Smithsonian Institution of the 
Arab chiefs. He was certainly picturesque 
in his dress ; but he and his whole band 
have all to learn about the godly and cleanly 
part of life! " 

" Suppose that fellow had not worn any 
belt; what would we have done?" said 
Cousin Serena, nervously. 

" I would have resorted to another device 
which would have proved quite as effective 
though not so dignified, and which would 
have put me quite a distance from them in 
a very short time," said Phil. 

So they chatted until the camp supper 
was announced, and soon afterward they 
were sleeping soundly ; but not until Doc- 
i39 



Illncle Sllen'6 Parts in Palestine 



tor Allen had commended them to the safe 
keeping of Him who never £i sleepeth nor 
slumbereth." 

The Lebanon Mountains mark the north- 
ern boundry of the Land of Promise, as the 
peninsula of Sinai marks its southern 
limit ; but while the peninsula is soon lost 
to view in travels northward, the magnifi- 
cent range of hills is almost always in view 
as one traverses the land. 

From the depth of the Jordan Valley by 
the Dead Sea, the snow-capped peaks of 
Hermon are seen; and from one of the 
spurs of Lebanon, on a clear day, one's 
vision can sweep almost from "Dan to 
Beer-sheba. ' ' Standing upon the northern 
prominence, it is possible to locate Mount 
Ebal and Mount Gerizim in Samaria, 
Mount Tabor at the head of the plain of 
Esdraelon, Mount Gilboa farther to the 
south, and Mount Carmel over toward the 
Mediterranean Sea. 

"These roads certainly are rough/ ' 
sighed Katharine, as the horses were pick- 
ing their way along on the journey from 

Caesarea-Philippi northward into Syria. 
140 



Zhc (Breat ^mountains 



" See the shepherds watching their flocks 
over yonder, ' 9 said Cousin Serena. ' * There 
seems to be but very little pasture for the 
sheep to nibble on those rocky meadows 
and slopes." 

" The land, where it is cleaned of rocks, 
is well cultivated," said Doctor Allen. 

' ' We are now in the land of the Druses / ' 
said the American guide. ' ' Although 
these strange people are not influenced by 
the highest principles of honor, and have 
the reputation of possessing a genius for 
appropriating property before they possess 
a clear title to it, they are nevertheless very 
attractive in many respects. Many of them 
are very prepossessing in their appearance ; 
they are expert husbandmen, though adopt- 
ing the most primitive methods and using 
the rudest implements ; they are the ten- 
derest and most faithful of shepherds ; and 
to the tourist passing through their country 
they are as attentive and polite as an as- 
piring politician." 

" Tell us something more of them, 
please," said Katharine. " I must confess 
to great ignorance regarding them." 



Ulncle alien's H>art£ in Palestine 



" Well/' said the guide, " according to 
the Arabic historian, Makrizi, their name 
is derived from Durzi, who appeared in 
Cairo, A. D.1019, as a missionary of a sect 
that was an offshoot of the Moslem stock. 
But the Druses whom you now meet in the 
southern ranges of the Lebanon and 
Anti-Libanus do not recognize the word 
* ' Druses,' ' and reject the historical explan- 
ation given above ; and acknowledge only 
the name of Mushids or Unitarians. It is 
thought that the history of the Druses be- 
gan in the year 1820, when Hamza, a wan- 
dering fanatic, induced Hakem, the caliph 
of Egypt, to declare himself a manifesta- 
tion of God. The following year the 
caliph was assassinated and Hamza retired 
to the wilds of Syria, where he propagated 
the new faith among the mountain tribes." 

" What is their religion, uncle? " asked 
Phil thoughtfully. 

"Their doctrines, 99 said Doctor Allen, 
" are a strange medley of Bible truth and 
Mohammedan error. They declare that 
Enoch and Seth were the rebellious pair 

whose sin at the beginning of the world 

142 



Gbe Great flfiountalns 



entailed woe upon mankind ; that the 
mediator Hamza baffles Satan and remits 
sin, but does not make a complete atone- 
ment ; that at the resurrection the bodies of 
the faithful will be absorbed into God's 
own being and transformed into spirit." 

" Their code of morals/' said the guide, 
' 6 is about this : be truthful when it will aid 
the cause of Hamza; renounce all other 
religions ; be separate from infidels of all 
kinds in mind and heart; recognize God's 
eternal unity; be satisfied with God's acts ; 
be resigned to God's will ; and let chastity, 
meekness , and mercy mark the human life . ' ' 

" They are acknowledged," said Doctor 
Allen, ' 'to be the most warlike and cour- 
ageous inhabitants of the Lebanon; their 
villages are built so as to be easily defended 
from enemies ; and their home life is much 
more peaceful and upright than that among 
the Turks and Arabs. As far as I could 
learn, there were not more than seventy- 
five thousand Druses in all Syria. I met a 
Christian physician and several mission- 
aries who are working among them, and I 
was informed that they were cordially re- 
i43 



tlncle mien's ff>att£ in Palestine 



ceived, but few of the Druses were in- 
clined to accept Christianity." 

In the mountainous country of Syria the 
scenery is strikingly picturesque. Through 
a beautiful gorge which it has formed in 
the Lebanon, the westernmost of the four 
rivers of this mountainous country dashes 
down toward the valley, and its snow-white 
foam and sparkling face are often screened 
by the overhanging foliage of the trees, 
whose branches meet and thickly intertwine. 

" Was not ancient Antioch situated on 
the Orontes? 99 asked Phil of Doctor Allen. 

' ' Yes ; it is the northern river of Leb- 
anon, and has much to do with the com- 
mercial and political importance of the 
country." 

' ' How the face of the country changes 
as we move in a northeast direction ! ' ' 

A prominent mound on the right of the 

road was pointed out by the guide as the 

traditional place where Paul was stricken 

with blindness and cried, "Lord, what 

wilt thou have me to do ? ' ' but the natural 

inference from the account in Acts would 

lead us to suppose that this event occurred 
144 



Zhc Great mountains 



nearer to the city which they were approach- 
ing. 

"We can never forget this charming 
landscape, can we, Cousin ■ Serena? " ex- 
claimed the appreciative young girl as her 
eyes wandered over the lovely scene „ 



K 



145 



CHAPTER IX 




THE EYE OF THE EAST" 

JH, are we to follow the banks 
of this river through this rich 
valley?" asked Cousin Ser- 
ena, as, having passed over 
the great chain of Anti-Libanus, they 
crossed the watershed and followed the 
clear waters of the Abana. 

The limpid steam was overrun at places 
with a mass of vegetation, willows, poplars, 
hawthorn, and walnut, and was brilliantly 
colored by the reflection of the variegated 
blossoms that kissed its laughing face. The 
green of the river banks became deeper 
and richer as they advanced ; the freshness 

of new life was on the wings of the gentle 
146 



"Zhe JSve of tbe jEast" 



breeze ; the sheen of the overbending skj 
seemed to glow with a brighter blue. 

"Let us rest here a moment," said 
Doctor Allen, laying his hand upon the 
bridle rein of Katharine's horse, " and 
drink in the beauty of this scene." There 
through a great cleft that opens in the hills 
between two precipitous cliffs, they looked 
upon an Eden of beauty, an island of 
tropical wealth in the sands of the desert, 
and there, nestling amidst walnut, apricot, 
olive, and orange trees, through whose 
foliage flashes the beautiful river, is the 
city of Damascus. 

"You remember," said Phil to Cousin 
Serena, at whose side he stood, " the anec- 
dote of Mohammed as he stood on this spot 
while yet only a camel driver from Mecca? 
After gazing on the scene below, he turned 
away without entering the city, exclaiming, 
' An earthly paradise ! But men can have 
but one paradise and my paradise is fixed 
above.'" 

" Come, let us enter the city," said our 
guide. " It is by no means inhabited by 
unf alien angels." 

i47 



IHncle BUen's 1part£ in Palestine 



" Suppose we study up a little on Da- 
mascus this evening/ ' said Doctor Allen, 
" if you are not too tired. I think it will 
add interest to our sight-seeing to-morrow. 
Phil, read us what the guide book has to 
say about this most interesting spot." 

' ' ' While the ancient cities along the Nile 
are known only by the magnificence of 
their ruined temples ; while Baalbec and 
Palmyra have long since passed away; 
while Babylon is a heap in the desert, and 
Tyre a ruin on the shore, Damascus, which 
Josephus declares was standing before 
Abraham's time, and which is called in the 
prophecies of Isaiah, " the head of Syria/' 
is to-day as it has been for thousands of 
years, a mighty city, influencing the cus- 
toms and trade of the region for hundreds 
of miles around it. Its importance in the 
flourishing period of the Jewish monarchy 
we know from the garrisons which David 
placed there, and from the opposition it 
presented to Solomon. How close its re- 
lations continued to be with this people, we 
infer from the chronicles of Jeroboam and 

Ahaz and the prophecies of Isaiah and 
148 



"ZTbe JEve of tbe JEnet" 



Amos. Its mercantile greatness is indi- 
cated by Ezekiel, in the remarkable words 
addressed to Tyre: " Damascus was thy 
merchant in the multitude of the wares of 
thy making, for the multitude of all 
riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white 
wool. ,, Alexander the Great saw its great- 
ness and sent Parmenio to take it while he 
was engaged in marching from Tarsus and 
Tyre. Julian the Apostate describes it as 
"the eye of the East." Recognized at 
one time as the metropolis of the Moham- 
medan world, its fame is mingled with 
the exploits of Saladin and Tamerlane/ 99 

"Shakespeare alludes in 'First Part of 
King Henry VI./ I. 3, to the tradition of 
Abel's having been murdered here," said 
Katharine, who was very fond of this great 
writer, and who had taken the Shakespear- 
ean medal at school the year before. 

" What does he say? 99 asked Phil; and 
she repeated the lines : 

" Winchester. Nay, stand thou back, I will not 
budge a foot ; 
This be Damascus ; be thou cursed, Cain, 
To slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilt ! " 
149 



mxclc mien's parts in Palestine 

" The cause of its importance as a city 
in all ages is easily seen as you approach 
it from the south/' said Doctor Allen. 
" Miles before you see the mosques of the 
modern city, the copious and perennial 
stream which we saw springs from among 
the rocks and brushwood at the base of 
the Anti-Lebanon, creating a wide area with 
others rich with prolific vegetation. These 
are the ' streams of Lebanon,' which are 
poetically spoken of in the Songs of Solo- 
mon, and the rivers of Damascus, which 
Naaman not unnaturally preferred to all 
the ' waters of Israel.' This stream, with 
its many branches, is the inestimable treas- 
ure of Damascus. While the desert is a 
fortification around Damascus, the river, 

where the habita- 
tions of men must 
always have been 
gathered, as along 
the Nile, is its 
life." 

The next day the 
party sallied forth 
to explore the city, 





"Sbe 3EEe of tbe JEaet" 



which, situated in a wilderness of gardens 
of flowers and fruits, has rushing through 
its streets a limpid and refreshing current. 
Nearly every dwelling has its fountain, and 
at night the lights are seen flashing upon 
the waters that dash along from their 
mountain home. 

" I think I can excuse the Moham- 
medans for calling Damascus ' the earthly 
paradise,' " sighed Katharine, as from one 
of the overhanging ridges they got a fine 
view of the city. Around the marble min- 
arets, the glittering domes, and the white 
buildings shining with ivory softness, a 
maze of bloom and fruitage is presented 
to the sight, where olive and pomegranate, 
orange and apricot, plum and walnut, 
mingled their various tints of green, in 
striking contrast to the miles of barren 
desert surrounding. 

" Damascus remains the true type of an 
Oriental city, ' ; said Phil ; * 6 the caravans are 
coming and going between Bagdad and 
Mecca, as of old, through its streets." 

" Cousin Serena, let's go to the bazaars 
to-day ; it is Friday and the great market 
151 



TUncle Bllen'6 fl>art£ in Palestine 



day. I think it will be great fun to go 
shopping in Damascus," exclaimed Kath- 
arine at breakfast. " And we don't wish 
any men along ; they do look so miserable 
when a woman takes them on a shopping 
expedition/' 

"It's mean of them too," chimed in 
Doctor Allen; "for I have known of a 
Christmas present being bought for the 
inappreciative creatures, such as lace cur- 
tains for the parlor, with the bill not sent 
in until the first of January." 

"As we are not wanted as escorts this 
morning, uncle," said Phil, laughing, "we 
will go out and do some sight-seeing by 
ourselves." 

Although Cairo contains a much larger 
population than Damascus, its bazaars are 
by no means so extensive or imposing. 
These bazaars are in long avenues, rcofed 
over, and each is devoted to some special 
trade. 

' ' Well ! did you ever see such gorgeous 
silks, Cousin Serena, as these Persians 
wear?" exclaimed Katharine, as they 
passed along the streets, going to the 

!5 2 



"Gbe ]£ye of tbe Bast" 



bazaars. " And look at these Nubians — 
such studies in black and white ! and the 
Greeks in their national costumes ! Let us 
stand here awhile and look at the crowd.' ' 

So they did and were much interested 
in the scene; Jews with long ringlets, 
Bedouins, Druses, Kurds, and Armenians, 
mingling together, and lines of pilgrims on 
their way to Mecca, a marvelous medley of 
humanity, not to be seen elsewhere, per- 
haps, on the globe. 

' 6 I shall buy all my presents for the 
home folk right here," said Katharine, as 
they paused before one of the bazaars, 
" for we can get anything, from a string of 
beads to an antique Damascus blade made 
last year in Germany! " 

So they busied themselves for several 
hours with the employment dearest to the 
average woman's heart, while Doctor Allen 
and Phil were visiting the great mosque — 
there are eight hundred smaller ones — 
which exhibits three distinct styles of archi- 
tecture, marking three epochs in the history 
of the place, and proclaiming the three 
dynasties that have possessed it in succes- 
153 



Ulncle mien'B fl>art£ in Palestine 



sion. In the transept is a chapel, said to 
contain the head of John the Baptist, which 
was found in the crypt of the church. 

As the party talked over the sights and 
events of the day during their evening 
meal, Doctor Allen, speaking of the 
" street called Straight/' of interest to all 
New Testament readers, said that it is about 
a mile long and extends across the city 
from west to east. 

" What is the population of the city, ac- 
cording to the guide book, Phil? " 

Phil read: "'In round numbers, the 
population is about one hundred and fifty 
thousand, one hundred thousand of whom 
are Moslems. These are notorious for 
their fanaticism, a terrible proof of which 
was given in the massacre of July, 1860, 
when six thousand Christians were slaugh- 
tered in the streets and nine thousand 
more in the district about the city. In this 
butchery we have a true picture of the 
" unspeakable Turk," when he is aroused. 
The churches and convents, which had 
been filled with the terror-stricken Chris- 
tians, presented piles of corpses, and the 
*54 



"Cbe Ese ot tbe J£aet' ' 



thoroughfares were choked with the slain. 
Through the influence brought to bear upon 
the Turkish Government, the governor and 
three city officers were shot, fifty-six of the 
citizens were hanged, one hundred and 
seventeen others received the death penalty, 
four hundred were condemned to imprison- 
ment and exile, and the city was made to 
pay the sum of one million dollars. Some 
refused at first to believe that the Turks 
were responsible for the massacre, but it 
has been shown beyond doubt that they 
connived at it, instigated it, ordered it, and 
shared in it. Their conduct north of Da- 
mascus at present is a repetition of the same 
thing! 999 

" Will we ever read the wonderful story 
of Paul's conversion without the scenes and 
situation of this beautiful old city rising be- 
fore our minds?" said Cousin Serena; 
" his being let down in a basket through a 
window, making good his escape. And 
while he resided here we are told that he 
preached Christ in the synagogue, 'that 
he is the Son of God,' and confounded the 
Jews that dwelt at Damascus." 

i55 



IHncle mien's iPartE in Palestine 



' ' I should think it would take more than 
the eloquent voice of Paul to disturb the 
consummate indifference of the average 
pipe-smoking, coffee-drinking, sleepy-eyed 
citizen of modern Damascus/ ' said Katha- 
rine, shaking out the folds of a lovely Per- 
sian sash she had tied around her slender 
waist, and which had engaged her attention 
for some time. 

" Did you pack carefully your beautiful 
bottle of attar of roses, Katharine?" in- 
quired her careful cousin. " I know your 
mother will prize that fragrant token of re- 
membrance." 

" I only wish she could have seen those 
great fields of roses, as well as the Indian 
fig, the mulberry and sycamore trees, and 
the extensive forest on the sides of the 
mountain," said Doctor Allen, who held 
this sister ever in loving remembrance. 



156 



CHAPTER X 



STONES OF THREE KINGDOMS 

T was with real regret that the 
little company set out from 
Damascus ; but they must en- 
dure the wearisome trip to 
Baalbec, in order to see the greatest ruins 
in Syria, and in some respects, the most 
wonderful in the world. 

The monotony of the journey was broken 
by the grandly rugged scenery that loomed 
up before them now and then, and by lines 
of burden-bearing camels, flocks of broad- 
tailed sheep and bearded goats, and the 
savage-looking Syrians that appeared along 
the way. After many hours of slow riding 
over roads that called forth the grace of 
patient endurance, both from the riders and 
the horses, with a sigh of relief and a sense 
of gratitude they saw in the distance the 
ruins of Baalbec. 

iS7 




Ulncle mien's B>art£ in ©alesttne 



"How are the mighty fallen!" said 
Doctor Allen, as the party stood among 
the ruins of Baalbec, Syria. "We look 
upon the remains of two distinct but blended 
civilizations. The popular natural religions 
which for centuries held Asia captive 
mingle the wrecks of their colossal archi- 
tecture with the exquisite forms that the 
artistic genius of Greece created. See 
how unconcernedly the sheep and camels 
and goats graze on the grass which grows 
over the fallen, crumbling columns and capi- 
tals ! What a commentary on human am- 
bitions and attainments! " 

M Isn't it touching to see how the open- 
ing spring casts fresh garlands over these 
relics of the dead past," said Cousin Ser- 
ena, who always saw something comforting, 
if possible, in every adverse condition. 
" It really looks as though nature were 
endeavoring to mend 
matters as best she can." 

t( What massive col- 
umns these are, leaning 
against the crumbling 
wall," said Phil. "They 
iS8 




Stones of Gbree Ifttnafcoms 



seem determined to postpone their fall un- 
til the last moment/ ' 

" And snow-capped Lebanon keeps per- 
petual watch over the desolation, just as in 
ages past, when all was activity and splen- 
dor/' said Katharine thoughtfully to Doc- 
tor Allen, who added something about the 
everlasting hills being a habitation, rejoic- 
ing meantime in the increasing earnestness 
of the young spirit beside him. 

They walked among the ruins, marking 
the delicacy with which the acanthus leaf 
was carved upon the gigantic blocks, and 
commenting on the pomp and pride of 
paganism as it arrayed itself before its 
death, here seen in the ruin of an entire 
city full of disorder, poetry, grandeur. 

"Tell us something of the old city,, 
uncle," said Katharine at length. 

" Well," rejoined Doctor Allen, nothing 
loth to gratify the young folks, and realiz- 
ing that a bit of history delivered to them 
upon the site of this wonderful city would 
be more acceptable than read from a guide 
book ; "let us rest ourselves on the ' seats 
of the mighty/ " suiting his action to his 
*59 



Ulncle mien's ©art£ in Palestine 



words, " and talk awhile about ancient 
Heliopolis, famed in Greek and Roman 
history for its sun worship in the temple 
which was one of the wonders of the 
world. 




" The temple of Baalbec, dating at least 

from the reign of Antoninus Pius, was 

erected on the acropolis of the city, which 

was placed on an eminence and surrounded 

by a gigantic wall, the stones of which be- 
160 



Stones of Cbree IfctngDoms 



longed to that Phoenician architecture 
which has earned the name of Cyclopean. 
First there was the great temple of Jupiter, 
which has preserved a large part of its 
portico, its ornate architecture, its fluted 
columns, and a rich profusion of decora- 
tion ; then there was the temple of the Sun, 
the ruins of which clearly indicate its past 
grandeur; and the last is known as the 
Circular Temple, the only remains of which 
are a few highly decorated chapels." 

' ' Suppose we walk through this long 
passageway," said the guide, as Doctor 
Allen rose, "and do a little exploring." 
He led the way into a court some seventy 
yards long and eighty-five yards wide, 
which is in the form of a high hexagon, 
with here and there rectangular recesses 
in the wall, each with a column in front. 

From this hexagon originally a handsome 
portal led into a great court, about a hun- 
dred and fifty yards long by a hundred and 
twenty-five wide, in the center of which 
stood the basilica, while around were rec- 
tangular recesses, called by the Romans 

exedrce. 

l 161 



TUncle Bllen'9 ©artE in ipalcetine 



In front of this great court the principal 
temple of Baalbec stood. This temple had 
columns running around it, only six of 
which are now standing. These are sixty 
feet in height, with Corinthian capitals 
and surmounted by a frieze. 

' 6 Let us try to imagine how it looked 
when the temple was in its glory," said 
the guide. "There were seventeen col- 
umns on each side of the temple, and ten 
at each end, fifty-four in all, the building 
inclosed by them being two hundred and 
ninety feet long, by one hundred and sixty 
broad. These masses of broken columns 
and falling walls indicate not only the work 
of the ' tooth of time,' but the ruthless rav- 
ages of the Arabs, who have destroyed 
priceless treasures in art, in order that they 
might secure the iron clamps in the col- 
umns.' ' 

" I wonder if we could read that inscrip- 
tion in the great portico/ ' said Doctor 
Allen : 

" ' To the great gods of Heliopolis. For 
the safety of the Lord Ant. Pius Aug. and 

of Julia Aug. the mother of the Lord of the 

162 



Stones of Gbree Ifttngfcoms 



Castra, (here it is quite indistinct) Senate. 
A devoted (subject) of the sovereigns 
(causes) the capitals of the columns of An- 
tonius, whilst in the air, (to be) embossed 
with gold at her own expense/ " 

6 6 Now for the second temple, or the tem- 
ple of the Sun, said the guide, leading the 
way to a platform lower than that of the 
great temple. " Nineteen out of forty-six 
columns, each sixty-five feet high, remain; 
and the capitals and entablatures of the 
columns and friezes around them are as ex- 
quisitely executed as anything in Baalbec. ,, 

The portal of the temple claimed espe- 
cial attention. The doorposts are mono- 
liths, most richly ornamented with foliage 
and genii ; the architrave is of three stones, 
on the lower side of which is the figure of 
an eagle, the emblem of the sun ; and the 
basement, which extends one hundred and 
seventy feet, is ornamented most profusely. 

" What tremendous stones! " remarked 
Phil, as they walked around the outer wall 
and his eyes fell upon three stones, which 
he learned afterward were the largest ever 

used in architecture. 

163 



Ulncle Bllen's 1part£ tn paleetine 



"Yes," said the guide, "the temple 
was at one time called Trilithon, or three 
stones, probably from these stupendous 
blocks. One stone measures sixty-four 
feet long, another sixty-three, eight inches, 
and a third, sixty-three. Each is thirteen 
feet high, and thirteen feet thick, and 
placed in the wall at a height of twenty 
feet above ground. It is still an unsolved 
problem how they were ever raised to their 
present position." 

" I remember once examining an un- 
finished block in the quarries from which 
no doubt these stones were brought," said 
Doctor Allen, as they turned away from 
this fallen splendor," which was seventy- 
one feet long, and nearly eighteen feet in 
thickness." 

The Circular Temple, which is located 
near to the modern village, is surrounded 
by Corinthian columns, is richly adorned by 
a frieze of flowers, and the entablature is 
heavily laden with elaborate decorations. 

As they sat on an ornately sculptured 

parapet, and quietly studied this wilderness 

of magnificent ruins, where were displayed 
164 



Stonce of Gbree IfrtnG&oms 



Phoenician glory and power, the poetry of 
Grecian art, and the pomp of Roman pride, 
the transitory character of even the most 
permanent and glorious of material things 
was pictured before them, as never before. 



165 



CHAPTER XI 



MODERN SYRIA 

OW, < Westward ho! ' " cried 
Katharine as, mounting her 
trusty horse, whose skill and 
strength in climbing had been 
tested during the entire trip, she turned 
with the others toward the Mediterranean 
Sea, where at Beyrout they were to take 
ship for the coast of Asia Minor. 

Many hours were spent in wandering 
through the picturesque valleys and over 
the rugged heights of this mountainous 
country. 

Philip once excited the envy of Katha- 
rine by climbing to the snow 
fields as they were passing 
near the foot of one of the 
grand snow-capped ranges. 
He was accompanied by a 

:^ Syrian shepherd, whose ac- 
166 




quaintance he had formed and recounted 
upon his return that he had sat upon a 
rocky promontory and enjoyed eating a 
great snowball on this May day, which was 
very refreshing after his steep climb, and 
from this high point clusters of Lebanon 
cedars, so famous in olden times, were 
seen in the distance. 

" See how the sky and sea meet," said 
Cousin Serena, pointing toward the west; 
for they could then distinguish the dark 
blue waters of the sea, mingling with the 
gorgeous colors of the sunset sky. 

On the second day, in the early morning 
light, they caught their first sight of the 
city from which they were to embark, and 
which was to mark the close of a journey 
of more than a month in the land of the 
most hallowed associations of any on earth. 

The location of Beyrout is very striking. 

A triangular promontory is the foundation 

upon which the city is built, the point of 

which projects three miles into the sea, 

and the base runs along the foot of Mount 

Lebanon. The streets near the seashore 

are narrow, and the houses are unattract- 
167 



Tflncle Bllen's Tpart^ tn Palestine 



ive ; but along the slopes of the hills there 
are some exquisitely beautiful villas, with 
well-kept gardens, extending to the sum- 
mit of the heights ; and beyond these there 
are acres of mulberry trees. 

" Do you recall the massacre at Damas- 
cus in 1860? M asked the guide turning to 
Doctor Allen. " After that many Chris- 
tians removed from that place to Beyrout, 
and since the introduction of European 
commerce the population of the city has 
nearly doubled/ ' 

During a part of the year, the seat of 
the governor of the Vilayet of Syria is 
located here ; it is the residence of nearly 
all the foreign consuls ; it has Greek, 
United Greek, and the United Syrian 
archbishops, a Jesuit College, with a 
printing office, and a convent of the Sisters 
of Charity. But in addition to all this, 
Beyrout is the center of the American Prot- 
estant missions in Syria, with a literary and 
medical college and a theological semi- 
nary ; and here are printed two Protestant 
religious journals in Arabic, which exert a 

widespread influence. 

168 



finoDem S^rta 



" I see/' said Phil, who had been busy- 
reading a handbook of information which 
he had obtained from the obliging drago- 
man, i( that a large business is carried on 
in the exportation of grain, wool, cotton, 
raw silk, hides, oils, soap, hemp, drugs, 
figs, raisins, and native wine, and there are 
large importations of kerosene, woolen, cot- 
ton, linen, and silk goods, rice, sugar, and 
coffee, which is increasing every year." 

" Now, uncle dear, be our walking en- 
cyclopedia again, and tell us about Bey- 
rout as you did about Baalbec. I do so 
much enjoy your improving my mind these 
days," said Katharine mischievously. 

Doctor Allen was easily coaxed into giv- 



VXncle mien's ll>art£ in ipalestine 



ing them the benefit of his rich and broad 
store of information. ' ' The first mention of 
Beyrout," said he, " in classical writings, 
was made by Strabo ; and after it came 
under the Roman rule, Claudius made it 
famous for its magnificent theatres, amphi- 
theatres, and other splendid edifices. After 
the destruction of Jerusalem the cruel Titus 
celebrated at this place the birthday of his 
father Vespasian by combats of gladiators, 
at which games many of the captive Jews 
perished. Some years after this it became a 
seat of learning, and students from great 
distances came to receive the benefits of its 
schools, especially to be instructed in legal 
lore, and when Theodosius II. came to 
power, it was made a metropolis. Since 
that time it has passed through a checkered 
history. Just now it seems to be blessed 
with substantial prosperity ; and if it were 
not for the influence of the government of 
Constantinople, which throws a shadow 
upon every place over which it presides, 
this city, which enjoys so many natural 
advantages and which is blessed by excel- 
lent foreign influence, would be one of the 
1 70 



flHofcem S£da 



most flourishing towns upon the eastern 
waters of the Mediterranean Sea." 

Doctor Allen, always interested in the 
work of missions, found this interest in- 
tensified by contact with a number of the 
consecrated men and women who are en- 
gaged in Christian missions in Syria. 

" I find," said Doctor Allen, upon re- 
turning from a morning's walk about Bey- 
rout, " that this place is the center from 
which incalculable good is being accom- 
plished. Several editions of the Arabic 
Bible have been electrotyped here, and dur- 
ing the past twenty years the Arabic Bible 
has been distributed through Syria, Pales- 
tine, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Egypt, 
and in Tunis, Algiers, Tripoli, Morocco, 
Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zanzibar, Aden, 
Bagdad, India, and China. 

"This press has also sent out works on 
medicine, geography, history, theology, 
and mental philosophy, besides many illus- 
trated books for the young, and weekly 
and monthly journals. During one year 
alone over twenty million pages in Arabic 

were sent out from the Beyrout press. The 
171 



Ulncle mien's ©arts in Palestine 



missionaries in Syria place great stress upon 
education ; and outside of Beyrout there 
are several flourishing schools for boys and 
girls." 

"I met an interesting person to-day," 
said Cousin Serena, " speaking of missions 
and missionaries. She is an English woman 
who is much interested in medical missions, 
and she told me of seeing near Caesarea- 
Philippi the only woman in all the Otto- 
man Empire who has received at Con- 
stantinople the degree of Doctor of Medi- 
cine. She was engaged with her brother 
in doing medical work among the Bedou- 
ins and inhabitants of the hill country in 
northern Palestine. I was proud to know 
that she is an American woman ; and 
this English woman says she heard her 
praises sung in different parts of Asia." 

" When were the first missions opened 
in Syria?" asked Phil. (< I do not see 
anything about it in this guide book." 

" Well, we are independent of it," said 
Katharine looking at Uncle Allen. 

Then as the twilight fell after the busy 

day of sight-seeing, they listened to the 
172 



flUoDem S^rta 



loved voice of him who spoke from his 
heart when the theme was missions. 

" It was in the opening of the year 1819 
when two ministers, Pliny Fisk and Levi 
Parsons, missionaries of the American 
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 
sions, landed in Smyrna, that modern Prot- 
estant missions began in this part of the 
world. But it was not until 1823 that Mr. 
Fisk with Mr. Jonas King, from America, 
and Mr. Way, of the London Jews' Society, 
reached Beyrout. For years Jerusalem 
and Beyrout continued to be the centers of 
American missionary labors; but in 1843 
the American missions were centered in 
Syria proper, and the Church Missionary 
Society took charge of the work in Pales- 
tine. The Syrian missions have not been 
limited to the two millions of Syria ; but, 
through the medium of the Arabic Scriptures 
and Christian Arabic literature, the influence 
of this great work has extended to the two 
hundred millions of the Mohammedan 
world. 

" Dr. Eli Smith began in 1848 the trans- 
lation of the Bible from the original tongue 
i73 



mncle mien's parts in ipaleetine 



into Arabic. Before he entered upon this 
literary work, with the aid of Mr. Homan 
Hallock he prepared the punches of the 
new font of Arabic type, made from the 
most improved specimens of Arabic calig- 
raphy; and this type, which at first was 
abused in every conceivable way by the 
leaders of the Oriental sects, has been 
adopted by the Turkish government jour- 
nals, the Dominican press at Mosul, the 
Greek and other native presses, and the 
Arabic press at Leipzig. 

" Besides the great work which is being 
accomplished from Beyrout as a center, 
the Church of England in particular, the 
Free Church of Scotland, the Society of 
Friends in England and America, besides 
other organizations, are doing noble work 
for God and man in the land of the Sultan, 
where the power of the pure gospel of Jesus 
Christ is so much needed.' ' 

* ' Thank you for your patience and pains- 
taking/' said Katharine, as she bade her 
uncle good-night. "I can scarcely be- 
lieve we are to-morrow to turn our faces 

away from these scenes homeward.' ' 

174 



ffllofcern S^rta 



" I am sorry for a few reasons, but glad 
for many, that it is to home and home folk 
we are going,' ' quietly remarked Cousin 
Serena. 

' ' I must whisper in your ear that you 
have been doing mission work in your own 
quiet way, you dear Cousin Serena,' ' said 
Katharine, as they left the room together. 
* ' Let me tell you that I have learned many 
lessons of patience and consideration for 
others, as well as love for sacred things, 
by watching your ways and listening to 
your words." 

Cousin Serena touched the fair young 
cheek caressingly, while something very 
much like tears bedimmed her sweet blue 
eyes, and she felt she could " thank God 
upon every remembrance" of this sojourn 
in the Holy Land, this land where her Lord 
had lived. 



!75 



8EP 14^ 1898 



